The situation on the violence-hit Assam-Meghalaya border is tense but peaceful.
Violence-hit Assam-Meghalaya
Hamreen (Assam): The situation along the Assam-Meghalaya border, where six people were killed in a village after violent clashes, remained tense but peaceful and security personnel have been deployed in the area, a senior official said on Thursday.
He said that restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC have also been imposed at the place of encounter and the surrounding areas.
“The situation is peaceful and a strong presence of security personnel has been ensured till the atmosphere is completely normal. Our magistrates are visiting the place daily,” the official told PTI.
Six people, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at a disputed site in West Karbi Anglong district along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the early hours of Tuesday, when a truck loaded with illegally cut timber was allegedly driven into the Assam border.
Assam has banned the entry of vehicles from the state to Meghalaya, following attacks on passenger vehicles there following the incident.
At various entry points from Assam to Meghalaya, police personnel erected barricades and asked people not to visit the hill state in vehicles with Assam number plates.
“We are requesting people not to travel to Meghalaya in cars registered in Assam. If there is an urgent need, they should hire a Meghalaya taxi from the border points,” Guwahati Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Sidhakar Singh.
However, he said that there is no such restriction on commercial vehicles like trucks and tankers. Asked how long the restrictions would last, Singh said: “I can’t say immediately, it all depends on the situation.”
Meanwhile, the Assam government on Thursday handed over the forest guard’s body to his family after post-mortem, the official said. The body of the Forest Protection Force personnel, identified as Badiya Singh Katha, was handed over to Assam authorities in West Karbi Anglong district by Meghalaya authorities on Wednesday night.
In Meghalaya, at least five social organizations on Thursday announced a two-day peaceful protest, demanding strict action against those responsible for the gruesome village incident.
The 884.9-km long inter-state border between Assam and Meghalaya is a long-standing dispute over 12 areas, and the site where the violence took place is one of them.
The two states signed a memorandum of understanding in March this year to end the dispute in six areas.
Meghalaya was separated from Assam in 1972 and has since challenged the Assam Reorganization Act of 1971, which demarcated the border between the two states.
