Clashes erupt at village along Assam-Meghalaya border

Two groups clashed with each other on Tuesday along the boundary between Assam and Meghalaya, ANI reported.

The violence took place in the Lapangap village, located along the boundary between the West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya and West Karbi Anglong district of Assam. People from both sides used bows and arrows and catapults to attack each other, according to PTI.

In November, five civilians and an Assam forest guard were killed in firing by the Assam Police after an altercation at the border. The incident had sparked off old tensions between the two states, which have a long-running border dispute.

On Wednesday, police officials from both states visited the spot and brought the situation under control.

“We are coordinating with our counterparts in Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district to keep the situation under control,” an unidentified official from the West Jaintia Hills district told PTI.

The clashes took place nearly two weeks after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma held a meeting in Shillong. The two discussed ways to resolve border disputes between the states, among other topics.

Also read| Border clash: What lies beneath the Assam-Meghalaya violence?

Boundary dispute

The two states are embroiled in a border dispute that started when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam on January 21, 1972, under the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971. Disputes arose at 12 locations after Meghalaya challenged the law.

Assam is the only state with which Meghalaya shares an internal border.

An area of 36.79 square kilometres was disputed between the two states. According to the agreement signed on March 29, Assam will control 18.51 square kilometres of the land and Meghalaya 18.28 square kilometres.

On March 29, Sarma and Sangma had signed an agreement to end disputes in six of the 12 locations. However, on December 8, the Meghalaya High Court placed an interim stay on the agreement.