From Our Correspondent
TURA: A dispute over the ownership of a very large tract of land along the Dalu border region of Garo Hills took an ugly turn when a mob of several thousand people went on the rampage attacking people, setting on fire homes and hacking a woman to death on Saturday morning.
Following the unprecedented violence, the administration of west Garo Hills district imposed indefinite curfew throughout the Dalu border region with effect from 5 pm on Saturday.
The mob of over four thousand people attacked homes at Gangbanga and Dapgre area of Dalu in protest against claims by one clan to seek control of the land which is currently in dispute and in the court of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) awaiting verdict.
They burnt down four houses at Gangbanga locality and another at Dapgre belonging to one Zakarius Sangma whom they accused of being behind the move to transfer the controversial land.
In the attack at Gangbanga, a forty-year-old woman identified as Jayanti Sangma, wife of one Martin, was hacked to death with lethal weapons by the mob.
The mob even refused to allow the fire brigade from Dalu to step in.
They halted the fire trucks and did not allow them to cross.
West Garo Hills superintendent of police Mukesh Kr Singh rushed to Dalu and managed to convince the mob to disperse but the damage had already been done.
As many as five homes had been gutted in the arson attack.
It is learnt that the dispute arose over large tracts of land along the border region between two Garo A’king clans.
The Magupara Aking Nokma had long claimed possession of the Adugachol region as part of the Dopo clan but it was disputed by the Rangsa clan which said that it was part of their Aking land.
The recent move to provide compensation for land as part of the Centre’s border fencing project appears to have ignited passions, it is alleged.
Questions have also been raised on the part of the district council and its delay in providing a verdict to the disputed land.
The disputed land issue was reportedly taken up in the court of the executive member in charge of land and revenue wherein a verdict was allegedly given in favour of the Magupara Aking. Following this verdict, the other group approached the court of the chief executive member (CEM) Purno K Sangma which put a stay and allegedly refused to hear the version of the Magupara Aking nokma leading to the long pending delay in solving the border dispute and the subsequent mob violence that took the life of a woman.