After weeks of will-they-won't-they, the Assam Government has tabled the Justice Manisana Commission report on Beltola clash on November 24, 2007 on Wednesday along with the action taken report. In his much-awaited report, the panel has indicted Kamrup district administration and the police for allowing the All Adivasi Students Association of Assam to held the rally which was "unlawful".
The panel observed that there is third party involvement adding that a section of AASAA leaders were influenced by the ANLA. Also, the commission said a section of the protesters cum victims were founded drunken which has been established by their blood samples collected by the doctors while they were under going treatment.
In its action taken, the Assam Government has explained that it will carry forward a process to implement the suggestions to prevent these incidents from repeating in future. The Manisana Panel also has suggested a few amendments in the 144 CRPF to avert any lapse from the part of the authority.
Notably, the incident took place when a section of Adivasi students participating at a rally in Beltola turned violent and clashed with another section of people in th streets. Two people died and several others have been injured. What led Beltola to buy a bad name is a few goons have allegedly stripped off an Adivasi girl in broad day light on the street.
Caught in a Catch-22 situation, the Assam Government institute an inquiry to unearth the truth behind it. The commission probed it talked to the local people while it was visiting the site. Even the stripped off girl also deposed before the commission along with some other Adivasi leaders. They have been demanding ST status for the last couple of years.
A home ministry team visited Dhubri to take stock of the prevailing law and order scene in the district in the wake of the spreading ethnic clash. Led by home ministry’s joint secretary attached to the north eastern region, Sambhu Singh the team left for Dhubri at 12-30 in the afternoon from Guwahati with a group of high level officials of para military forces. The team reviewed the situation with senior civil and police officials during the day long visit.
Three persons died and several others have been injured at an incident of landslide on the National Highway leading to Shillong on Thursday. The incident took place in Byrnihat at around 5 in the morning when two trucks and a hut were covered with mud on the roadside. Meghalaya policemen rushed to the spot and rescued some of people.
The injured people have been sent to the hospital. The entire portion has been undergoing expansion work. Meanwhile, the landslide has resulted in a huge traffic snarl to and from Guwahati.
A magistrate was seriously injured on his stock taking visit to Kokrajhar on Thursday. The incident took place in the morning when circle officer Bipul Saikia was on the way to inspect the refugee camp in Kokrajhar. All of a sudden, unidentified miscreants started pelting stones at his vehicles leaving him seriously injured. His vehicle was also damaged in the incident.
Assam governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik has appealed to the trouble mongers to abandon the path of violence in any form and work for the promotion of peace, amity; communal harmony. Patnaik, who is currently in Delhi has expressed his deep shock at the on going strings of disturbances in Kokrajhar and Chirang where 41 people lost their lives.
In a statement, he stated that the growth, progress and prosperity of the people are totally dependant on the maintenance of peace, amity and good neighborliness’ among all communities.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is on a stock taking visit to Kokrajhar on Thursday five days after the ethnic clash claimed 42 people in BTAD areas. Gogoi, who flew on helicopter from Guwahati reached the trouble torn Kokrajhar at 11 in the morning and met senior civil, police and para military officials.
He further visited a few refugee camps to oversee the relief measures in the district. Significantly, he skipped his proposed visit to Gossaigaon during his day long visit to BTAD areas. Over two lakh people from 400 villages are living in some 120 relief camps after moving out of the violence hit areas.
Fresh orgy of clashes reported in Bagsa where three people have been on Thursday. The incident took place in Bennabari area under Musolpur police station where three persons have been shot at in the wee hours. They have been rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile, 13 columns of the Army have been deployed in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon. Idefinite curfew and shoot-at-sight orders are also in place in these four districts that are most affected by the violence.
Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is visiting the Kokrajhar, the worst-hit in the ethnic clash where over 25 people were killed during the last five days. Gogoi is leaving for Kokrajhar in the morning where he is scheduled to hold a high level meeting of army, police and civil heavyweights. Apart from this, Gogoi is scheduled to visit a few refugee camps in the district where displaced people are pouring in. Meanwhile, five cabinet ministers are camping in the trouble torn areas to monitor the situation.
Army on Thursday claimed to have partially brought the situation under control in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts. There is no report of any fresh orgy of clash during the last 12 hours. Meanwhile, passenger and goods trains services had partially resumed on Wednesday evening and the delayed trains were expected to resume their journey with the ‘improvement’ in the situation.
Earlier a total of 30 passenger trains and 20 goods trains carrying grains and medicines were stranded along a thin passage that connects Assam from rest of India.
The ethnic flare up forces thousands of people in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri to flee to north Bengal. These people, mostly, taking shelter in Alipurduar. But road transport in the West Bengal border district was severally hit near Kumargram area in Jalpaiguri district after borders areas were sealed.
A 12-year-old girl was admitted to the Alipurduar Hospital after being shot at by the miscreants on Wednesday.
Amarjyoti Kalita was brought back to Guwahati a day after Assam police got five days transit remand of the main accused in the GS Road case. A three member team led by senior police officer Ranjan Bhuyan, landed at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in the evening. He was straightly rushed to the Panbazar police station where the special investigation team set up to probe the case start interrogating him in this connection. He was handed over to Assam police in Varansi on Tuesday when he was produced before a local court.
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