Guwahati:
A Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti rally led by Right to Information (RTI) activist Akhil Gogoi against eviction around Guwahati hills turned violent after police lathicharged the protesters.
A 9-year-old was one among the three dead in the ensuing violence.
A drive to evict people from their homes here has been underway for a week, but things got out of hand during a protest against the move.
Protesters clashed with the police leaving 43 injured of which 20 are policemen.
The protesters insisted on marching to the state secretariat and enter the high security zone before they were forcibly stopped.
Cars were upturned and stones thrown at the police were met with a lathicharge and tear gas shells.
Police reinforcements were rushed to the area, and things got bad enough for orders to be issued to shoot anybody indulging in violence.
Illegal occupation of government land has become very common not just in Guwahati, but its hills, forests and wetlands as well.
Officials say the land mafia has interests here and they have no option but to crackdown this way.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi hit out at Akhil Gogoi, leading the protest, accusing him of being a political man in the garb of a social activist.
As this battle rages, left behind here are the bitter reminders of this bloody Wednesday which Guwahati will find hard to forget in a hurry.