Assam police killings: Bandh hits normal life in Darrang

People search for their belongings after their houses were demolished during an eviction drive, in Darrang district, on Friday. Pic/PTI

A 12-hour bandh called by a body of various organisations representing the minority community to protest the killing of two people during an eviction drive affected normal life in Assam's Darrang district on Friday.

Two people were killed and 20 injured when police opened fire on alleged encroachers during an eviction drive in villages under Sipajhar revenue circle on Thursday.
No untoward incident has been reported so far in the bandh called by the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema among others, a police officer said.

All business establishments remained closed and very few vehicles plied the roads. Security has been tightened across the district with heavy deployment in Goroikhuti, Dholpur I and III villages in Sipajhar where the eviction drive was underway, he said.

A Congress delegation, comprising its state chief Bhupen Bora, Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Rakibul Hussain and other senior leaders, staged a protest against the incident outside the Darrang deputy commissioner's office in district headquarters Mangaldoi.

The delegation was also scheduled to submit a memorandum to Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi through the deputy commissioner, party spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said. Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta visited the district on Thursday night to review the law and order situation, and announced that the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will probe the incident.

"Some facts have come to light while there are many that are yet to be unravelled. The CID will investigate all the aspects," he told reporters.

20
Total no. of people who were injured in the clashes on Thursday

Third party forces may have instigated protesters: BJP

The BJP on Friday alleged that "third party political and apolitical forces" including Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) could be behind instigating protesters to attack Assam Police personnel during an eviction drive in Darrang district. "At Gorukhuti, we have observed a pattern similar to the PFI's way of functioning. The outfit aims to only create unrest," local BJP MP Dilip Saikia told reporters. The Islamist organisation has been banned in several states of the country.

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