From Our Correspondent
Guwahat: Twelve persons were killed in police firing and several police and CRPF men injured in Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) areas in western Assam’s Goalpara district on Tuesday during the third and final phase of Panchayat election in the state.
A senior police official informed that four persons were killed in Kahiribari, two each in Kasadhal, Chilukut and Rakshishini and one in Bekipul after the police opened fire.
Indefinite curfew was clamped in areas under Krishnai police station in Goalpara district. The administration claimed to have brought the situation under control.
Police had to resort to firing in the air at several places in the RHAC areas when agitating people tried to force polling to a stop. The protestors, armed with sticks and sharp weapons, stormed polling booths at several places in the district after voting began this morning amid a heavy security cordon.
Rabha tribe bodies have been opposing Panchayat polls in the Council areas, though the state government has made it clear that it was legally bound to hold the village-level polls in RHAC as it is not under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Council polls for the RHAC are slated for April end.
The protestors burnt ballot boxes, vehicles and polling booths, mostly schools, and also attacked and injured a few security personnel. In the police firing to control the irate mob, nine people were killed in different parts, including Dudhnoi, Kasakol, Kotharmuri and Silkul.
Senior police and security officials were rushed to Goalpara to tackle the situation even as the administration was evacuating its polling officials from the sensitive areas.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi while condemning the violence in RHAC areas in western Assam announced ex-gratia for the victims. In a statement Gogoi termed the violence most unfortunate as Government was bound to hold Panchayat elections in the Rabha Hasong areas as the RHAC is not under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution . The government has already announced dates for RHAC polls in April-end.
The Chief Minister announced that the Assam government would pay ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those who sustained injuries in the violence.
The Government would also provide compensation to those whose houses were either partially or fully damaged.