GUWAHATI: Three policemen were injured including several civilians when Assam police and CRPF personnel on Monday clashed with picketers during a ‘rail roko’ in Choutara railway station in Kokrajhar district of southern Assam on Monday.
The Rail Roko agitation concerning the demand for ST status, was staged by the All Assam Koch Rajbanshi Sammelon from 6:00am at Chautara station under Alipurduar Divison and Simaluguri station under Tinsukia station of N.F. Railway.
The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), P J Sharma said that authorities were forced to divert a few trains including Guwahati-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and Guwahati-Bangalore Express.
A large number of long distance trains including goods trains were redirected at different Stations of Rangiya and Alipurduar divisions while two local passenger trains – Alipurduar-Kamakhya-Alipurduar and New Jalpaiguri-Rangiya – were cancelled.
New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express and Guwahati-Bangalore Express have been diverted to run via alternative route of Fakiragram-Golokganj-New Cooch Behar.
The local administration initially convinced the protestors to lift the blockade so that railway traffic would not be affected. However, they later resumed their protest.
As police and paramilitary forces tried to evict them from the track, some of the protestors pelted stones at security personnel who then resorted to cane charge, tear gas shelling and even few rounds of blank firing.
The cops –Ataur Rahman, Abhiranjan Kumar and Bajiur Haque – were injured in the clashes. The forces later managed to chase away the protestors.
Koch-Rajbongshi is one of the six ethnic communities in Assam who have been demanding ST status. Several meetings between the leaders of these community organizations and the central government have failed to resolve the issue adding to the frustration of these communities.
The Koch-Rajbingshis claim that they are over 70 lakh in Assam, thereby the largest among the ethnic groups.
