GUWAHATI
Two men were killed and at least 20 others, including a Magistrate, were injured in Assam on Thursday after the police opened fire on people resisting an eviction drive.
The incident occurred in the Kochutoli area under the Sonapur revenue circle, about 30 km east of Guwahati.
The two men, identified as Jubahir Ali and Haidar Ali, succumbed to bullet injuries at the local hospital while some of the injured were shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
The police said a drive to clear encroachment over government land measuring about 100 bighas (about 33 acres) passed off peacefully from Monday to Wednesday. Trouble started around noon on Thursday after the evicted people reoccupied the cleared spaces and confronted the officials and police personnel.
“They resisted when we started evicting them again. Soon, many of them arrived and attacked us with sticks and stones apart from damaging two police vehicles. The police had to open fire to control the situation,” an administrative officer told journalists at the site.
Additional security personnel were deployed in the area when reports last came in.
The clash between the alleged encroachers and the police affected train services on the Digaru-Tetelia section of the Northeast Frontier Railway’s Lumding Division. A railway officer said rail traffic on the section was disrupted for two hours when some 400 of the evicted people blocked the track.
“The Railway Protection Force and the State police cleared the track and normal train running has resumed. Three trains underwent detention. There were no attempts by the protesters to carry out any sabotage of railway property,” a railway statement said.
It said the eviction drive by the State government had no connection with the Railways. “There is no cause for any panic for railway passengers,” it added.
Published – September 13, 2024 12:23 am IST
