From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Armed miscreants from Nagaland crossed over a disputed section of Assam-Nagaland boundary in Naginijan areas under Mariani Police station in Jorhat district of Assam and shot dead a farmer working in the field on the Assam side of the boundary on Monday adding fuel to the unresolved boundary row between the two states.
Jorhat Deputy Commissioner R C Jain informed that a villager from Assam was killed when
miscreants from Nagaland side fired upon a group of farmers near Naginijan tea estate. The deceased has been identified as Sanjay Bhumij, a tea estate labourer.
The unprovoked firing by miscreants from Nagaland side prompted Assam Police personnel on
guard in the area to open fire and chase away the miscreants.
Sanjay Bhumij was working in a field along with some others close to the inter-state border when he was killed after being hit by the bullet.
In the wake of the killing of the innocent villager, several organisations including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) have declared an indefinite blockade of all roads leading to Nagaland through Assam.
Rupjyoti Kurmi, Congress legislator who represents Mariani Assembly segment, accused the Assam government of failing to protect its citizens from gun-toting miscreants from across the
inter-state boundary.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of Sanjay Bhumij.
Deputy Commissioner Jain said, “We are in touch with our counterparts on the Nagaland side and carried out a joint police patrol later in the day. The situation is under control.”
Situation along the Assam-Nagaland boundary under Mariani police station has been tense for the past two weeks after two labourers from Naginijan tea estate had been kidnapped and assaulted by some miscreants from Nagaland on May 23 last . In reaction local groups blocked all roads leading to Nagaland through Mariani on May 24 and passengers of several Nagaland-bound vehicles were injured when miscreants pelted stones at vehicles on the Assam side.
The boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland continued to remain unresolved despite a
mediation process initiated by the Supreme Court two years ago. The two sides met on May 31 in New Delhi in the latest round of mediation. The matter is expected to come up for hearing in
the apex court in the first week of August.
Assam maintains that over 59,000 hectares of its land along the inter-state boundary has been under encroachment by Nagaland. But Nagaland while denying the allegation counters that it is
Assam that has encroached upon large tracts of its land along the boundary.