Assam: Villagers protest NDFB firing, toll rises to 12
Guwahati: Angry residents on Monday went on a
rampage setting ablaze houses and blocking roads to protest
the indiscriminate firing by NDFB insurgents in their village
in Assam's Sonitpur district that left 12 people dead.
The villagers of Balchung Dimajuli dispersed only
after the police used batons. Senior police and civil
officials were camping at the spot.
Eleven bodies were found from the spot and a child
succumbed to injuries early this morning at the Guwahati
Medical College Hospital.
A high-level team of three senior ministers-- Revenue
Minister Bhumidhar Barman, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
and Cultural Affairs Minister Bharat Narah - along with
Director General of Police Shankar Barua have rushed to the
district to review the situation.
Officials said the militants had attacked the
villagers as they refused to pay the extortion demands.
The villagers comprising mostly Assamese, Nepalese and
Adivasis had recently decided in a meeting not to accede to
the extortion demands which could have possibly triggered the
attack.
Bureau Report