Nagaon/Guwahati: Four persons were injured in police firing in Assam’s Nagaon district on a mob protesting against NDFB(S) attack in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) during the 12-hour state-wide bandh on Monday even as curfew was relaxed in violence-hit districts.
Official sources said the police fired on the mob at Doboka area when supporters of Muslim Students Union, which had called the bandh, attacked and threw stones at them when asked to withdraw the road blocks.
The wounded were rushed to hospital, the sources said. In another incident at Sonaribil, bandh supporters attacked and damaged the vehicles of Koliabari sub-divisional police officer and circle officer.
The sources said the bandh was partial in the minority dominated areas and the situation was tense in the district.
The bandh was called to protest the killing of 34 people belonging to a minority community by anti-talk NDFB(S) in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts in BTAD since Thursday last forcing thousands to flee their homes.
Curfew, which was imposed since Friday was relaxed during the day in the two districts and neighbouring Chirang as no fresh violence was reported in those areas.
The prohibitory order was relaxed for eight hours from 10 AM at Baksa, for six hours at Kokrajhar and for seven hours from 10 AM at Chirang respectively.
Flag march by the army continued to instill confidence in the people and security forces patrolled the affected areas to prevent fresh violence, the sources said. IGP L R Bishnoi claimed a major attack was averted with the killing of two NDFB-S militants in an encounter with the police at Baksal village in Udalguri district, which too falls under Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts, where they had gone to unleash violence.
Those who fled their homes during the violence were provided shelter by the government in relief camps.
The bandh, which began at 5 AM, has affected normal life in Nagaon district where banks, post offices and some educational institutions remained closed and attendance in government offices was thin, the sources said.
Business establishments and shops, specially those owned by minority, put their shutters down during the bandh. Vehicles mostly remained off the roads though a few long distance buses operated, while trains plied as usual, the sources added.
Govt for judicial probe into BTAD incidents: Gogoi
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said his government would institute a judicial enquiry by a retired judge to probe into the outbreak of violence in the Bodoland territorial Area Districts (BTAD) areas.
In a statement released here today, Gogoi said instituting the judicial inquiry would help to unravel the conspiracy angle behind the incidents and to bring the culprits to book.
“The government which has already moved the National Investigation Agency to probe into the incidents would leave no stone unturned to unearth the truth behind the incidents,” Gogoi was quoted as saying in the release. (PTI)
