GUWAHATI, June 13: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed law enforcement officers to be “zero tolerant” against elements who desecrate temples, namghars and sacred spaces in the state.
Sarma visited Dhubri on Friday and announced that Rapid Action Force and CRPF personnel along with additional police personnel from Assam Police would be deployed in the western Assam town with a “shoot-at-sight” order to be issued for Dhubri from 6pm of Friday against elements that disrupt peace and escalate communal tension.
The directive comes in the wake of the recovery of beef (including a severed head of a cow) from the premises of a Hanuman temple in Dhubri last Monday, a development that has apparently stoked tension and unrest in the area, leading to protests and shutdown of shops and prompting the district administration to issue prohibitory orders.
“This incident proves that some communal powers are active in Dhubri with the intent of disturbing peace and communal harmony,” the chief minister said after assessing the law and order situation in the town.
He also chaired a high-level review meeting with top district administration officials in Dhubri.
Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, the chief minister said he would issue a “shoot-at-sight order for Dhubri after reaching Guwahati later in the day to prevent untoward incidents such as stone pelting, which may trigger communal violence and tension.
“On the eve of Bakra-Eid, some posters in Bangla were pasted in the town with disturbing messages, such as “Nobin Bangladesh” (New Bangladesh) and “We will make Bangladesh Independent,” etc., that could trigger communal tension in the area. So, a few unscrupulous elements are trying to stoke communal tension in Dhubri,” he said.
The chief minister further said that if any temple or mosque requests for installation of CCTV cameras, he would ensure that arrangements be made to install CCTV cameras in the religious places of Dhubri town.
“The incident of throwing beef at the town’s Hanuman Mandir should have never happened, and those involved won’t be spared,” Sarma warned on social media later.
