40 Cops Hurt As Groups Clash For 2nd Straight Day In Assam's Karbi Anglong

Forty police personnel, including senior cops, were injured, and shops and motorcycles vandalised, as two groups of tribal communities clashed in Kheroni in Assam's West Karbi Anglong district – over alleged encroachment on protected tribal lands – for a second consecutive day.

The Director-General of Police, the state's top cop, was also targeted, NDTV was informed.

The government subequently shut down mobile internet data in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong.

Protesters threw stones at each other, and cops who tried to restore order with a lathi charge and firing of tear gas, as the already volatile situation worsened, prompting authorities to tighten security measures, including the deployment of over 100 cops to prevent any further escalation.

Protestors had earlier torched two motorcycles in the Kheroni area.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the situation "is very sensitive". "Ranoj Pegu (Assam's Education and Plain Tribe & Backward Classes (non-BTC) Minister is present.... I believe the matter will be resolved soon," the Chief Minister said from an event in Guwahati.

Earlier today protesters seemed to have backed down – and called off a hunger strike – after talks with Pegu. The agitators, belonging to several political and social organisations, had been on a hunger strike for the past 12 days to demand the eviction of illegal settlers.

Pegu had delivered assurances of talks that will be attended by the Chief Minister.

On Monday three civilians and a paramilitary personnel were injured, which led to the local administration imposing prohibitory orders citing "certain anti-social elements".

The protests yesterday also included incidents of arson; the house of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council chief was burned down, prompting a district-wide curfew order.

The protestors also tried to attack a police station in Kheroni.

Pegu arrived in Kheroni on Monday night.

And on Sunday, police detained seven protesters.

Tension broke after thousands of indigenous people marched from Kheroni towards Dongkamukam, demanding the immediate release of the seven detained individuals.

Protesters also blocked roads in Kheroni as part of their agitation.

The root of the dispute, sources told NDTV, is the Karbi communities' demand – they reportedly want their ancestral land to be protected from other non-tribal communities in the area.

The protestors are demanding the eviction of encroachers, who mostly hail from Bihar, from Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) lands in the two districts.