Curfew continued Friday in Kokrajhar area of Assam's Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), where violence has claimed the lives of six people since 10 Nov.
The army, which has been called in to help police in containing the law and order situation, has been carrying out flag marches at all the sensitive places in the district - particularly in and around Kokrajhar town and in areas under the Gosaigaon subdivision in the district. No incidents had been reported from anywhere in the district in the last 24 hours. However, curfew was still in force in the district as a precautionary measure, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S N Singh said.
Assam Director General of Police Jayanta Narayan Choudhury also reviewed the situation. State Industry and Commerce Minister Pradyut Bordoloi and senior officials were expected to visit the region.
Although the immediate reason behind the violence is yet to be ascertained, locals believe it is a backlash from the clashes between the Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers in July-August this year in which more than 100 people were killed and close to five lakh people in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts displaced.
The violence started Saturday last week (Nov 10), when suspected militants attacked a group of farmers at Bazugaon under Gosaigaon police station in Kokrajhar district. A man called Ainul Haque was killed and police recovered another body from Anthaibari area in the district. Two days later, on 12 Nov, another man was shot dead. In the two days that followed, two more people were killed.
Again, on Thursday, tension escalated with suspected cadres of the anti-talk faction of the Bodo militant outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland injuring one person at the weekly market in Kokrajhar town. Suspected militants also gunned down a man called Nirisan Basumatary at Telipara under Gosaigaon subdivision.
The army, which has been called in to help police in containing the law and order situation, has been carrying out flag marches at all the sensitive places in the district - particularly in and around Kokrajhar town and in areas under the Gosaigaon subdivision in the district. No incidents had been reported from anywhere in the district in the last 24 hours. However, curfew was still in force in the district as a precautionary measure, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S N Singh said.
Assam Director General of Police Jayanta Narayan Choudhury also reviewed the situation. State Industry and Commerce Minister Pradyut Bordoloi and senior officials were expected to visit the region.
Although the immediate reason behind the violence is yet to be ascertained, locals believe it is a backlash from the clashes between the Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers in July-August this year in which more than 100 people were killed and close to five lakh people in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts displaced.
The violence started Saturday last week (Nov 10), when suspected militants attacked a group of farmers at Bazugaon under Gosaigaon police station in Kokrajhar district. A man called Ainul Haque was killed and police recovered another body from Anthaibari area in the district. Two days later, on 12 Nov, another man was shot dead. In the two days that followed, two more people were killed.
Again, on Thursday, tension escalated with suspected cadres of the anti-talk faction of the Bodo militant outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland injuring one person at the weekly market in Kokrajhar town. Suspected militants also gunned down a man called Nirisan Basumatary at Telipara under Gosaigaon subdivision.