Assam toll 73 amid fresh violence

Assam toll 73 amid fresh violence

Fresh incidents of violence were reported in lower Assam districts even as the government on Tuesday recommended a CBI probe into the ethnic clashes between tribal Bodos and Muslim settlers in Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts, which have left 73 dead. On Tuesday three more people were shot dead by the miscreants in Kokrajhar district while the body of another was recovered in neighbouring Chirang district. “Some internal and external forces are out in the open, trying to create disturbances. So, we have started the process of handing over the probe to the CBI,” chief minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters here. “I have recommended a CBI probe into the incidents and now it is up to the Centre to take a final decision on instituting it.” Gogoi said of the 73 dead, 15 died in the relief camps while four were killed in police firing. So far, 1,17,000 people, who had taken shelter in the relief camps, have returned home, he said. “We want that by August 15 all should return to their homes. But there are some forces who don’t want so,” Gogoi said. An estimated over four lakh people have been displaced in the wake of the riots. The chief minister expressed concern over incidents of fresh violence in parts of BTAD. He said he had instructed the officials to firmly deal with the situation. “We have to firmly deal with the situation. The police have already arrested 170 people for indulging in violence,” Gogoi said, adding “I have instructed the police to seize all illegal arms and ammunition”. Meanwhile, angry locals blocked a national highway on Kokrajhar-Dhubri border on Tuesday to protest the latest killings. Three people were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim settlers. The victims hailed from Dhubri district. In Chirang district, the police recovered the body of a person from a paddy field on Tuesday. The miscreants had burnt down some houses here on Sunday. The fresh violence prompted the authorities to impose curfew in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts.