Prohibitory orders banning the assembly of more than four persons in public places were imposed in Kokrajhar district of Assam on Tuesday following tensions between the Bodo and Adivasi communities after two persons were killed in mob violence.
The Army has been deployed in sensitive areas of Kokrajhar, PTI quoted an unidentified defence spokesperson as saying on Wednesday. A flag march will be conducted in the area on Wednesday as part of confidence-building measures, the news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.
The situation was under control and security measures were in place in Kokrajhar and the neighbouring Chirang district, PTI quoted officials as saying.
The tensions erupted on Monday night, when a vehicle with three persons from the Bodo community hit two Adivasis in the Karigaon area of the district, the state’s additional chief secretary (home and political department) said in a notification suspending mobile internet there on Tuesday.
One of the injured Adivasi men, Sunil Murmu, later succumbed to his injuries.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Singh told The Indian Express on Tuesday that after the two persons from the Adivasi community were hit, “others joined in to attack the people inside the vehicle”.
One of the persons inside the car, Sikhna Jwhwlao Bismit, succumbed to injuries sustained during the incident.
Following the incident, the two communities blocked the national highway near Karigaon, burnt tyres, and set houses and an office building on fire on Tuesday. The police outpost in Karigaon was also attacked.
Dipen Boro, the president of the All Bodo Students Union, condemned the killing of Bismit.
“Such barbaric act of killing without any reason to innocent persons is against the law,” Boro said on social media on Tuesday. “It is a heinous crime designed by miscreants to spread violence and hatred among peace loving communities. It seems clear lapses of administration that some untoward incidents have been prevailing in the district.”
The Rapid Action Force had been deployed in the area on Tuesday to restore law and order.
The Assam government had on Tuesday also suspended mobile internet services in Kokrajhar, saying that it could be used to spread inflammatory messages and rumours that might further disturb the situation.
Kokrajhar is part of the Bodo-dominated Bodoland Territorial Region, an autonomous division of Assam.
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