The Hailakandi district administration in Assam on Sunday extended the curfew in the region till 7 am the following morning, reports said. The curfew was imposed after a Muslim man was killed in a communal clash in the area on Friday and 14 people were injured.
Meanwhile, the Army staged a flag march in the sensitive areas of the district during the day. The authorities said no major incidents of violence have been reported in the last 24 hours.
Barak Valley Divisional Commissioner Anwaruddin Chaudhary said internet services have been suspended in the entire valley, The Assam Tribune reported. “Internet connectivity will be restored depending on the law-and-order situation,” Chaudhury added.
The decision to extend the curfew was taken at a high-level meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office that was attended by top police personnel, and state Excise and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, among others.
Suklabaidya said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state administration has released an ex-gratia package of Rs 5 lakh for the family of Jashim Uddin, who was killed in the violence, and provided Rs 50,000 to the injured. The government is also bearing the cost of their treatment. “The top priority of the government and district administration is to restore normalcy in the district,” the minister added.
Additional Director-General of Police Mukesh Agrawal told The Telegraph that assistant sub-inspector Tinku Goswami was suspended for allegedly mishandling the situation. Goswami is also facing an inquiry.
Meanwhile, All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal and the BJP state unit called for peace in view of the Islamic month of Ramzan that began last week.
According to local reports, the tension in the region started when motorbikes owned by Muslim devotees were vandalised on Friday while they were praying inside a mosque. The motorbike owners lodged a first information report, and threatened to offer prayers on the road if action was not taken. “The other group tried to stop [them] and that led to an argument,” Mohneesh Mishra, Hailakandi’s police chief, had told Scroll.in.
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