GUWAHATI, July 29: A day after a 12-hour bandh disrupted normal life in three Barak Valley districts, protests against Monday’s firing at Lailapur near the Assam-Mizoram border were held on Thursday in various parts of the state, including Silchar, which is about 46 km from the conflict site.
Protesters converged in front of Mizoram Circuit House in Silchar around noon, shouting slogans against Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga and demanding stern action against those involved in the firing.
Seven persons, including six Assam Police personnel, lost their lives in the incident while over 60 others, including over 40 policemen and officials were injured.
The protesters sought the intervention of Union home minister Amit Shah in regard to working out a permanent solution to the long-pending inter-state boundary issue.
Demanding implementation of the inner line permit (ILP) system for entry in Assam like in Mizoram, the protesters submitted a memorandum to Cachar deputy commissioner Keerthi Jalli after staging the demonstration for about two hours.
In Guwahati, agitated members of the Veer Lachit Sena, a socio-political organisation of Assam, held placards and shouted slogans against the Mizoram government in front of Mizoram House here, threatening to launch a week-long economic blockade at Jorabat to prevent essential goods-carrying vehicles from proceeding to the neighbouring state.
The protesters however were not allowed to enter Mizoram House by the security forces deployed there.
“It is unfortunate that we have come here to protest an incident that concerns Assam Police and instead they have not allowed us to enter Mizoram House. We only wanted to stage a symbolic protest by unfurling our traditional gamosa and not attacking anyone there,” one of the Lachit Sena activists said.
“We demand upon the Assam and the Mizoram governments to immediately identify the miscreants who fired (using light machine guns) at the Assam Police personnel at Lailapur and killed six of them. We also demand that the Rajya Sabha MP (K Vanlalvena) who made a provocative statement against Assam Police during a media interview in Delhi, be arrested. Else we will be compelled to intensify our agitation,” a Lachit Sena leader said.
Members of the North-East Minorities Students’ Union (NEMSU) also staged demonstrations in some parts of Assam in protest against the incident and demanded stern punishment to those involved in the firing.