6 killed in violence at Assam-Meghalaya border; high alert issued

Six persons, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at the disputed Assam-Meghalaya border in the early hours of Tuesday after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest guards from Assam.

In a tweet tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam CM Himanta Sarma, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, whose party is an ally of the BJP, complained that the Assam police and forest guards entered Meghalaya and resorted to unprovoked firing.

Assam police officials, however, said the truck was intercepted in the West Karbi Anglong district of the state by a state forest department team and a mob from the Meghalaya side had later attacked the team of forest guards and policemen from the state, which led firing by the Assamese side to control the situation.

Following the incident, the Assam police sounded an alert in all the districts bordering Meghalaya to thwart any possible law and order situation, an official said. The Assam forest department team intercepted and stopped the truck at Mukru area carrying the illegal timber towards West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya at around 3 am, West Karbi Anglong superintendent of police Imdad Ali told PTI.

Disturbing news coming from #Assam #Meghalaya border. Four people dead on Meghalaya side due to police firing. Internet service shut across 7 districts in Meghalaya. Assam travellers are being asked not to Meghalaya. @SangmaConrad calls emergency meeting. Disturbing visuals pic.twitter.com/kJQ5HPIz7q

— DP (@dpbhattaET) November 22, 2022

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Police reinforcements were rushed to the spot when the forest guards contacted Zirikending police station. After the police reached the spot, a large number of people from Meghalaya armed with daos (daggers) and other weapons gathered at the spot around 5 am, the officer said.

The mob gheraoed the forest guards and the police personnel demanding immediate release of those arrested and attacked them which prompted the police to resort to firing to bring the situation under control, Ali said.

“A forest home guard and three persons of the Khasi community of Meghalaya were killed in the incident,” the SP said.

“The situation is under control now,” he said adding that top officers of the district are rushing to the remote area. It is, however, not clear whether the casualties, including the forest guard named Bidyasing Lekhte, died of bullet injuries or were hit by any other weapon.

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Meanwhile, a police official said here that an alert has been sounded in all districts bordering Meghalaya and their police as been asked to remain vigilant.

All superintendents of police of districts along Meghalaya have been told to keep a strict watch on any possible law and order situation. But there is no restriction on movement of vehicles or people along the inter-state border, he added.

Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 areas of the 884.9 km long inter-state border.

The two north eastern states had signed a memorandum of understanding in March in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi for ending the dispute in six of them.

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The two states have also initiated discussions for resolving the disputes in the remaining six areas. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 and had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, which led to the dispute.