This Article is From May 04, 2014

Assam Violence: 31 Killed, Families Refuse to Bury the Dead

Securitymen stand guard near relatives of victims at Bodoland Territorial at Khagrabari under Baksa district in Assam

Guwahati: 31 people have been killed so far in the violence in Lower Assam. 30 have been arrested from Kokrajhar and Baksa, most of them for providing logistical support to the culprits. No fresh incident has been reported overnight.

Here are 10 latest developments

  1. A curfew has been imposed in the three violence-hit districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang and Baksa. Shoot-at-sight orders are also in place in Baksa.

  2. In Baksa, relatives of those killed in the violence have refused to bury the dead, demanding that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi visit the violence-hit region. (After Violence, Faces of Fear in This Assam Village)

  3. One of those arrested is a forest ranger in Manas National Park, which is close area where the killings happened. These men allegedly facilitated the entry of the militants through the park that is located along the Bhutan border.

  4. The killings took place in three separate attacks in the areas falling under the Bodoland Territorial Council. The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for the region's ethnic Bodo people. (11 Dead in Targeted Killings in 12 Hours in Kokrajhar, Assam)

  5. The region was subjected to large-scale riots between Bodos and Muslims in 2012. Over a 100 people were killed, and lakhs displaced.

  6. The Army has been called in and its teams staged flag marches in troubled areas on Saturday. Twenty companies (approximately 2000 personnel) of central forces have been made available to the state and additional companies, including Cobra companies, will be sent as required. (PM Condemns Assam Violence: Read Full Statement)

  7. Mr Gogoi has said the Assam government will seek a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the violence, but refused to resign. "I am not a coward. I will not run away from the battlefield, I will fight the terrorists," Mr Gogoi said. (Assam Chief Minister Says He Won't Step Down)

  8. Bodo representatives say many of the Muslims in Assam are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who encroach on ancestral Bodo lands. The state has a history of sectarian strife and armed groups fighting for greater autonomy or secession from India.

  9. The National Democratic Front of Bodoland has denied any involvement in the violence, claiming it was "a political conspiracy by the Assam government to trigger clashes between two communities".(Assam Violence Triggers Political War of Words)

  10. A blame game has broken out between the Congress and the BJP over the violence. "This is because of the vote-bank politics of Congress," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged while Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah blamed Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, for the violence. ('What Has PM Done to Restore Law and Order in Assam', Asks BJP)



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