Guwahati: Curfew was relaxed for a few hours yesterday in Assam’s violence-hit districts where the death toll in ethnic violence now officially stands at 75, officials said.
Tension persisted in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts in particular which accounted for most killings, Home Secretary Pratik Hajela said. Hajela added that the army and other security forces had intensified their operations against Bodo militants who massacred unarmed adivasis Dec 23 in three districts, inviting retaliatory violence.
The security crackdown is taking place along the border with Bhutan. “We hope the situation will improve soon,” Hajela said.
The army has deployed 66 columns for the operation. The central government has sent 50 companies of paramilitary forces to Assam. Another official said the district administrations Sunday relaxed the curfew imposed after the violence for a few hours but said the night curfew will continue.
Security forces are particularly active in the four Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri.
Operations are also going on along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Sonitpur, the worst affected district.
On Saturday, army chief Gen Dalbir Singh reviewed the situation in Assam in the wake of violence unleashed by the anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
The violence has displaced over one lakh people in four districts. Hajela said Bodo militants killed 41 people, including 15 women and 14 children, in Sonitpur district. Another 31 tribals, including 10 women and four children, were killed in Kokrajhar district. IANS
