Army conducts flag march, peace meet held in Kokrajhar
Guwahati/Kokrajhar: Army conducted a flag march and a peace meeting was held in the presence of two Assam ministers on Wednesday to ensure that the situation returned to normal in violence-hit Kokrajhar district, where two persons were killed in mob violence, leading to arson and clashes between Bodos and Adivasis, officials said.
Army, deployed in sensitive areas of the district, conducted a flag march as a confidence-building measure, a defence spokesperson told news agency.
The Army personnel conducted patrolling in the affected areas of Karigaon and its nearby locations on Tuesday night.
A total of four Army columns have been deployed in the district, the spokesperson said. Besides the Army, security personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF), CRPF and Assam Police are also patrolling the affected areas, IGP (Law and Order) Akhilesh Singh told reporters.
The overall situation is under control with no fresh incident reported since Tuesday evening and tight security measures have been put in place in Kokrajhar and neighbouring Chirang district, he said.
The situation is fast returning to normal with security forces patrolling sensitive areas and urging people taking shelter in relief camps to return to their homes.
He said that five relief camps have been set up in different schools and over 1,200 people from the nearby villages have taken shelter there but “we are trying to convince them to have faith in the security system and return to their homes”.
Asked if there was any militant link to the incident, Singh said, “The matter will be investigated but as of now there is no such evidence.”
The incident happened due to an accident and this led to mistrust between the two communities but normalcy is now returning to the district, he said.
He said that certain sections have been circulating misleading videos on the social media which they should refrain from doing and action has already been initiated against those indulging in such activities, Singh added.
IGP (BTC) Vivekraj Singh said that 19 people have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement in the incident while three more have been detained for interrogation.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma deputed his cabinet colleagues Jayanta Malla Baruah and Charan Boro to the district to review the situation and ensure the return of peace.
A peace meeting was organised by the district administration which was attended by the two ministers, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary and prominent members of the civil society belonging to all communities.
Baruah said that the district administration is conducting surveys in the affected villages to assess the damage and the compensation will be decided upon after it is completed.
