Six “illegally built” hutments dismantled at Bokochara
GUWAHATI: A joint team of the Assam police and officials of the Kamrup district administration embarked on an eviction drive in an interior border village, dismantling about six huts allegedly constructed by “settlers from Meghalaya”.
The village, Bokochara in Kamrup district, is about 16 km from Boko town and about 40 km away from the inter-state boundary.
“We had information about six to seven illegal structures and dismantled all of them in the presence of the district administration officials on Friday. Three persons (believed to be from Meghalaya and suspected to have constructed the structures) were caught and allowed to go later after telling them not to repeat such activities in the area,” Kamrup deputy superintendent of police, Kalyan Pathak told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
A team from Boko police station led by officer in-charge, Jogendra Barman, had conducted a preliminary inspection at the village on May 25, after allegations from residents that people from West Khasi Hills have built temporary structures in the area.
“Some people had also engaged in clearing a forest area well within Assam at a place called ‘Welcome Hill’. We suspect some settlers, after being informed about the visit by officials might have fled the area,” Pathak said.
A list of six persons believed to have constructed the hutments was shared with the media. Accordingly, the names listed are “Badumik, Gongmess Syiem, Lee Lee Longdon, Badu Nonglung, Badu Nongkoy and Koka Julim Zarim.”
Residents of Bokochara had alleged that about “50 families from Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills “illegally built houses and settled” in the hamlet over the past two years.
“However, we do not have ample proof to ascertain whether there are that many settlers there. The eviction carried out was based on concrete information about illegal settlers in the area and so we dismantled the structures. We are keeping close vigil to ensure no such activity is carried out,” the DSP said.
