Nine more bodies were recovered on Saturday from violence-hit Baksa district of lower Assam, taking the toll to 32. The Army has been called in and curfew imposed in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts of Assam after attacks by National Democratic Front of Bodoland militants.
According to the police, heavily armed NDFB militants fired indiscriminately in the Balapara village of Kokrajhar on Friday morning killing 8 people on the spot. Later, 12 bullet-riddled bodies were recovered from the Baksa district. Shoot-at-sight orders were imposed on Friday night in both districts, falling under the Bodoland Territorial Administration Districts (BTAD) area, which bore the brunt of the violence, police sources said.
At least 70 houses of the minority community were torched on the banks of Beki river near the Manas National Park in the district, IGP (Law and Order) SN Singh said.The ruling Congress, opposition BJP, AGP, All Minority Students Union , All Bodo Minority Students Union , All Assam Students Union and several other organisations have condemned the killings and urged the people to maintain peace.
A group of 20 to 25 militants belonging to the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland stormed Balapara-I village in Kokrajhar in the wee hours on Friday, and fired indiscriminately, killing seven persons on the spot. On Thursday night, three members of a family, including two women, were shot dead and an infant seriously injured by the same group of rebels in the Baksa district.
All opposition parties and a section of civil society in Assam have asked for Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi's resignation. All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which is headed by Dhubri MP Badruddin Ajmal, has demanded the imposition of Presidents' rule in the state.
The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for the region's ethnic Bodo people and the latest round of violence comes just days after voting in the region for the national election on April 24.The region was subjected to large-riots between Bodos and Muslims in 2012. Over a 100 people were killed, and lakhs displaced.
INDIA HONEST shows its serious concern on the frequent incidents of turmoil and violence incurring in these sensitive areas, where the local people including the Bodos are seriously angered on the unabated influx, that is going on for decades, of Bengali speaking Muslims, many of whom are alleged illegal Bangladeshi.
The successive governments have failed to take remedial measures to clarify the status of such migrant people , as those are seen to be as vote banks by the political parties while the locals treat them as trespassing on local areas causing economic and social hardship the local habitats.
Moreover the governments in Bengal and Tripura must remain vigilant, as much similar conditions like Bodoland also prevail in these areas, where sensitive reports of regular influx of allegedly illegal Bangladeshi are highly ignored by the leaders in their cruel vote bank politics .