Assam top cop visits trouble spot

Guwahati: Assam director general of police Mukesh Sahay and chief secretary Vinod Kumar Pipersenia visited trouble-torn Silapathar in Dhemaji district on Friday to take stock of the situation.

Tension has gripped the area after Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanvay Samiti (NIBBUSS) activists attacked the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) office in Silapathar.

Informing that Assam police has announced a cash award of Rs 1-lakh for anyone who would provide vital information about the whereabouts of Subodh Biswas, the prime accused in the March 6 Silapathar incident, Mr Sahay said the police has already arrested about 30 accused. “We will nab Subodh Biswas soon,” he said, adding that measures have been taken to stop the situation from escalating; Section 144 has been imposed in Silapathar to maintain law and order. Fourteen companies of the Assam police battalion have also been deployed in Silapathar and several companies of paramilitary forces have been shifted from Jorhat and North Lakhimpur to Silapathar. Meanwhile, AASU staged a state-wide on Friday against the Silapathar violence.

The agitators demanded arrest of Subodh Biswas, president of the Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanvay Samiti (NIBBUSS), for inciting the violence.

The AASU leaders slammed the NDA government for advocating to grant citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus. Senior AASU leaders who led the protest in Guwahati has also warned the state of serious consequences if the police failed to arrest Subodh Biswas. Normal life was affected in Upper Assam where several organisations called for a complete bandh.

Protestors burnt tyres and blocked roads at many places in Dibrugarh, while tension was prevailing in district towns as there were reports of miscreants intimidating residents of retaliatory violence.