Guwahati(Assam),Sep 23: Two persons were killed and at least ten others, most of them policemen, were seriously injured on Thursday in firing by the force on protesters demanding rehabilitation of 800 families evicted by Assam’s Darrang district administration and the clash that followed between the two sides, police said.
The evicted families had launched a protest at Sipajhar demanding that the eviction be stopped and that they be provided with a comprehensive rehabilitation package.
Trouble broke out when a mob of protesters, who were armed with sharp weapons, started pelting stones and attacking policemen and general people present at the spot, Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma said.
The police opened fire in self-defence, killing two persons, both civilians. This led to the two sides coming to blows, in which at least ten others were injured, he said.
Most of the injured were policemen and the condition of an assistant sub-inspector Moniruddin was stated to be critical by doctors treating him. He has been shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, he said.
The dead have been identified as Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Forid, Sarma said.
The situation was later brought under control and the mob dispersed. The eviction is on in DholpurI and Dholpur III villages despite the tension in the area after the clash with the police.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Guwahati that the ongoing eviction will not be stopped. “The police have been entrusted with the responsibility of clearing the land of illegal encroachers and they will continue till the job is done”.
The eviction will stop when it turns dark and resume again on Friday, he added.
The Darrang district administration has cleared 602.04 hectares and evicted 800 families since Monday and demolished four “illegally” constructed religious structures at Sipajhar, officials said.
The Chief Minister had visited the area on June 7 and inspected the riverine areas allegedly encroached by “illegal settlers” near Dholpur Shiva Temple and had directed the district administration to clear the area for a community farming.
Source : PTI
