Guwahati: Tension is running high in Silapathar area of Dhemaji district in eastern Assam following ransacking of the local office of influential All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) by activists of a lesser known linguistic minority organisation on Tuesday.
Tension became palpable on Tuesday morning when AASU members staged protest against Monday’s vandalism.
Police have so far arrested nine persons in connection with the incident while Section 144 of the Cr PC was clamped in the area where CRPF and IRB personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday directed Additional Chief Secretary V B Pyarelal to enquire into the incident of attack on the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) office in Silapathar by miscreants and submit report within one month.
Terming the incident as unfortunate Chief Minister Sonowal said that some elements are making efforts to create rift among different communities of the state and these elements would not be allowed to succeed in their designs.
The Advisor of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Dr Samujjal Bhattacharrya said such incidents of attack on the offices of AASU which has been spearheading the movement against the problem of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the state , would not be tolerated and the guilty of Monday’s incident must be brought to the book.
Assam Legislative Assembly on Wednesday unanimously condemned the attack on AASU office in Dhemaji district and urged the state government to take strict action against the culprits to prevent such incidents in future. After a detailed discussion, Assam Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami announced an all-party goodwill team under the leadership of Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul will visit the site in Silapathar in Dhemaji and submit a report in the House.
“This is a condemnable incident. All such divisive forces should be curbed strictly. The government should take action against such anti-social elements trying to do divisive acts,” Goswami said.
Informing the House about the incident, Parliamentary Affairs Chandra Mohan Patowary said around people marched towards Silapathar town after attending a public meeting by Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanway Samitee (NIBBUSS).
“They damaged the AASU office and clashed with its members. After reaching the spot, police used tear gas shells to control the situation… The protesters also burnt one or two vehicles,” he added. He further said the government will not allow anyone from “outside” to obstruct the development journey of Assam.
