From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: At least four persons were killed and several others, including six policemen, injured when police opened fire on a large group of agitating jute farmers at Besimari weekly wholesale market along National Highway 52 in Assam’s Darrang district on Monday.
Police informed that the trouble started on Monday morning between jute farmers and buyers at the weekly market when the buyers allegedly refused to pay the price quoted by the jute growers who had brought their produce to the market.
The jute growers claimed that they were being previously paid Rs 1500-1600 per quintal but the buyers on Monday were allegedly offering only Rs 1000 per quintal, leading to altercation between the two groups.
The farmers than squatted on the highway blocking traffic along the arterial road.
A police team led by DSP, F Ahmed, arrived at the market to persuade the farmers to clear the road and adopt another means of protest. The administration also sought more time to sort the problem.
However, the angry protestors started damaging vehicles which were stranded on the highway forcing police to resort to lathi-charge. They then started pelting stones at the police team in which the DSP was badly injured after he was hit on the chest by a stone while his fours PSOs and a havilader of Assam Police Battalion were injured. As the situation was gradually spinning out of control, police opened fire to control the mob that resulted in the death of four farmers and injuries to several others. At least nine protestors were injured out of whom three sustained bullet injuries.
The injured were rushed to the civil hospital at Mangaldai, the district headquarter while the seriously injured DSP was rushed to Guwahati Medical College Hospital here.
