GUWAHATI: The Amy on Oct.10 Staged a flag march in the Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts neighboring Bhutan, following organized attacks by Bodos in which 17 people were killed, Unofficial sources put the toll at 25.
Six more paramilitary companies were airlifted to the affected district for development in the foothills of Bhutan where the riot affected peoples are sheltered.
At least 10 people were killed by armed Bodos in Bongaigaon district alone and arson in small scale ‘was continuing in Amdeka areas of the district.
‘The Army had been deployed in all the affected areas of the district and the government had directed the district authorities to keep a vigil on the situation.
Official sources said 17 people died, 500 huts were torched and about 25,000 people displaced in Thursday’s attack by Bodo militants in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts, to drive out non Bodos from the proposed Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) areas.
Barring an incident of arson, no fresh incident was reported Sunday. The militants set ablaze a cattle market at Bengal in Bongaigaon district Saturday, the sources said. ‘The displaced persons were given shelter in relief camps while 13 people, who suffered bullet injuries, were admitted to the Kokrajhar civil hospital.
‘Troops were patrolling the affected areas round the clock. And paramilitary forces in strength had been deployed to restore normalcy in the two districts, But, though the situation was officially described as “under control”, tension continued to simmer in different parts of the districts.
The president of the Jana Bodo Sartha Surakshya Samity, Prabhad Chandra Ray, who presented a memorandum to the all-party delegation Jed by the Assam Speaker, Debesh Chakravory, alleged that incidents of large-scale arson by Bodos took place despite prior warning to the administration.
We have no faith in official assurances any more. We are not going back to the villages dominated by Bodo tribals,” he said, adding, “Nobody areas should be excluded from the proposed Bodoland. Autonomous Council.
People started fleeing in two directions towards adjacent Bhutan and towards Bengtol. The first batch took shelter in the foothills of Bhutan, while the other crossed the Ace River and reached Bengtol area, Ray said, demanding immediate relief and security measures for the refugees.
The refugees claimed that about 20 non Bodos were cither hacked to death or burned alive.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 15, 1993
