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By evening, the Army and Rapid Action Force had been deployed in the area in addition to police and CRPF, and mobile internet services were suspended in the district of Kokrajhar.
With hundreds of people moving to temporary shelters for safety after the outbreak of violence in Assam’s Kokrajhar district on Tuesday, an uneasy peace settled over the area on Wednesday.
Tensions between the Bodo and Adivasi communities in the Bodoland Territorial Region’s (BTR) Kokrajhar district erupted after a Bodo youth was killed by a mob on Monday night. According to police, the mob attacked the vehicle the youth was travelling in after it hit two people from the Santhal Adivasi community near Karigaon village on Monday night.
One of the people hit in the accident, Sunil Murmu, also succumbed to the injuries. The mob attack resulted in an escalation of tensions between the communities, with demonstrations, stone pelting and arson being witnessed in the area on Tuesday.
By evening, the Army and Rapid Action Force had been deployed in the area in addition to police and CRPF, and mobile internet services were suspended in the district of Kokrajhar and the adjoining BTR district of Chirang. While the demonstrations and violence subsided by the evening, many Adivasi families living in Karigaon moved away from their homes into temporary relief shelters for the night, fearing an escalation of violence.
“There are five such relief centres which have been set up in schools in nearby areas, and a total of 2,900 people from Karigaon were there by this afternoon. Since the situation in the area is under control now, some of them might return to their homes today itself,” Kokrajhar DC Pankaj Chakravarthy told The Indian Express.
Chakravarthy added that a peace meeting was held in Kokrajhar with different stakeholders on Wednesday afternoon.
IGP (BTAD) Vivek Raj Singh told reporters that while 19 people had been arrested in connection with Monday night’s mob attack, three people have been detained in connection with Tuesday’s violence.
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A senior police official said that caution is being exercised because of “earlier fault lines in the area”.
“The situation was more or less under control by late afternoon on Tuesday, but the Army, RAF and CRPF have been deployed here as a precautionary measure. The DGP was also in Delhi and rushed to the spot on Tuesday to take charge of the situation,” said the official.
The BTR region, with a bloody history of insurgency, had seen ethnic conflict between Bodo groups and Santhals in 1996, and then in 2014, when 62 Adivasis were gunned down by Bodo militants in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts. Militant groups of Adivasi communities, such as the Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam, had also been formed with the instability in the region, which have now signed accords with the government.
Sukrita Baruah is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, based in Guwahati. From this strategic hub, she provides comprehensive, ground-level coverage of India's North East, a region characterized by its complex ethnic diversity, geopolitical significance, and unique developmental challenges. Expertise and Experience Ethnic & Social Dynamics: Deep-dive coverage of regional conflicts (such as the crisis in Manipur) and peace-building efforts. Border & Geopolitics: Tracking developments along India’s international borders and their impact on local communities. Governance & Policy: Reporting on state elections, tribal council decisions, and the implementation of central schemes in the North East. Specialized Education Background: Prior to her current role, Sukrita was a dedicated Education Correspondent for The Indian Express in Delhi. This experience provided her with a sharp analytical lens for: Policy Analysis: Evaluating the National Education Policy (NEP) and university-level reforms. Student Affairs: Covering high-stakes stories regarding campus politics, national entrance exams, and the challenges within the primary and secondary education sectors. ... Read More
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