Shoot-At-Sight Order In Assam's Dhubri District To Continue During Durga Puja: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the shoot-at-sight orders at night, enforced since June 13 in Dhubri district, will remain in force during Durga Puja in view of fresh security concerns along the India-Bangladesh border.

The order was enforced during communal disturbances in June.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Sarma said the government has identified Dhubri and South Salmara as areas of particular concern. "We have no problems in other districts. Our concerns are in Dhubri and South Salmara, as these are border districts. Recently, people in Dhubri have started receiving calls from Bangladesh. There are a lot of activities happening there. We are very concerned about the law-and-order situation during Durga Puja. We have not cancelled the shoot-at-sight order given earlier," he stated.

The Chief Minister further revealed that police investigations have confirmed the origin of threatening calls from Bangladesh-based numbers. "Police have already established who made the calls and are in the final stage of investigation. We have arrested Ali Hussain Bepari, who is linked to JNB. Police believe he was the one who shared phone numbers with Bangladesh," Mr Sarma added.

The Chief Minister further informed that the police investigation is in its final stages. One person, Ali Hussain Bepari, who was earlier in jail, linked to the organisation called Jammat-Ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh ( JMB), has now again been arrested in connection with the case. Police suspect that this individual had shared phone numbers with contacts in Bangladesh. We will soon crack how people in Dhubri were receiving calls from across the border, he said.

Reports indicate that villagers living along the Indo-Bangladesh border have received threatening phone calls and audio clips traced to Bangladeshi numbers. The callers, allegedly linked to fundamentalist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), warned locals of "terrible consequences" if they cooperated with Indian security agencies and threatened arson if any arrests were made.