GUWAHATI, July 27 : The Assam government declared a three-day state mourning from Tuesday to condole the deaths of five Assam Police personnel and a civilian who succumbed to injuries in the firing by “armed men” during a major escalation at Lailapur in Cachar district near the Assam-Mizoram boundary on Monday.
“During this period, the national flag will be flown at half mast where it is regularly flown and there will be no public entertainment during this period,” a notification issued on Tuesday said.
At least six persons succumbed to injuries, while over 40 police personnel/officials, including Cachar superintendent of police, Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar, suffered bullet injuries when they were fired upon, allegedly by Mizoram police, from a higher ground with automatic rifles, including light machine guns.
The injured Cachar SP, who is stable, has been air-lifted in a special aircraft to Mumbai for medical treatment while a few other critically injured police personnel have been flown here for treatment at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital.
The Assam Police has claimed to exercise restraint and did not resort to retaliatory firing when its police personnel were initially fired upon on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rushed to Silchar on Tuesday morning and took stock of the health of the injured police officials and personnel admitted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital and directed doctors to ensure best treatment to them.
In a condolence message, he stated, “We are deeply anguished by the loss of lives of our brave Assam Police personnel. I visited the Silchar SP office and paid floral tributes to the five martyrs and saluted their sacrifice.”
Later. addressing reporters at the Silchar Circuit House, Sarma announced that the state government would pay an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to each of the martyr families while also promising a government job for one member of each of the five families.
“All those injured in the firing will get Rs 1 lakh each while all Assam Police personnel deployed on the Mizoram border shall get an additional month’s salary,” he said.
