Guwahati, January 25 : At least two people including a minor boy were killed and 25 others were injured during a clash between protesters and security personnel in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Thursday. Five police personnel were also injured.
The incident took place in the Maibong area in Dima Hasao hill district. Social organisations led by Dimasa Apex Body, Jadikhe Nisho Hosom called for a 12-hour bandh in the district to protest the inclusion of Dima Hasao district in the proposed Frontier Nagaland. More than one thousand protesters responded, blockading the railway track.
The protesters became violent, damaging railway tracks, the local railway station and police vehicles. They also pelted security personnel with stones.
The police retaliated with a baton charge, firing tear gas shells into the crowd, in an attempt to control the situation.
When a mob tried to attack the security personnel, five police personnel were injured, and they opened fire on the protesters.
Two people, one of them a minor boy were killed and 20 others were injured.
Speaking after the incident, Assam ADGP (SB) Pallav Bhattacharya said the situation is still tense and injured persons were taken to hospital.
There were also protests in Haflong, Mahur, and Langting areas, where protesters also blockaded the railway tracks and roads.
Top police officials rushed to Maibong area, where the deaths and most of the injuries occurred.
Although officials said two people were killed, some local people claimed that at least four were killed in the police firing.
After the violent incident in Maibong, the district administration imposed a curfew throughout the district.
Assam’s Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal sent two of his ministers, Chandra Mohan Patowary and Parimal Suklabaidya to visit the trouble-torn district, to take stock of the situation.
Earlier, a mob in Haflong vandalized the RSS political office, destroyed CCTV cameras and tried to burn down the building. RSS is the BJP’s parent organization.
