Tinsukia: People stage a demonstration against the killing of five people in Dhola under Tinsukia district on November 1. (IANS Photo)
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Those responsible for violence will not go scot-free, says Assam CM
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ULFA (I) denies involvement
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 3
Various organisations in Assam have called for a 12-hour Assam bandh on Saturday condemning the killing of five persons in Dhola under Tinsukia district on Thursday.
“More than 100 organisations of Barak Valley under Rastrabadi Joutha Mancha have called for a 12-hour Assam bandh on Saturday,” The Assam Tribune reported.
The Silchar District Congress Committee has also condemned the incident and called a 12-hour bandh, it said.
Unidentified gunmen on Thursday evening shot dead five persons, three of them from the same family, at Bisonimukh village. The victims were made to line up before the gunmen shot them with AK 47 rifles, the report added.
Police today recovered several empty cartridges from the spot.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Assam in an ‘Announcement’ stated that Assam Government has issued directives to all Deputy Commissioners to ensure normal functioning in all government establishments in view of the proposed Assam Bandh.
“They should ensure that nobody should be subjected to undue harassment in the name of Bandh,” it added.
In West Bengal, the Congress leadership on Friday announced that the party will observe "Black Day" across the state on November 3 and urged the Centre to dismiss the BJP-run Assam government.
"We have no words to condemn the brutal killing that took place in Tinsukia yesterday (Thursday). Congress will observe 'Black Day' across Bengal on November 3 in protest against the killings, the IANS reported quoting state Congress president Somen Mitra.
CM blames inflammatory statements, hate speeches
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister Sonowal said those responsible for the killing of five people in Tinsukia on Thursday will be brought to justice.
Condemning the killing of innocent people and terming it as an act of cowardice, Sonowal said the state police have been directed to nab the culprits involved in the incident, IANS reported.
"Assam is marching ahead towards prosperity, taking everybody belonging to Barak-Brahmaputra, hills and plains on board. However, some anti-social elements are hell-bent on creating disharmony to disturb the progress," the report quoted Sonowal as saying.
He said inflammatory statements and hate speeches made by leaders of certain organizations and political parties also led to the killing of innocent lives in Upper Assam, it said.
He appealed to people to nurture the age-old bonding with those belonging to Barak-Brahmaputra, hills and plains in the state, it added.
The Chief Minister further said that the government will not remain a mute spectator to lawlessness and will come down heavily on evil forces out to disturb harmony in the state.
He said top police officers are camping in Tinsukia district to deal with the situation and apprehend the miscreants who carried out the senseless killing.
The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday condemned the brutal killing of five people in Assam, saying that "such cowardly acts will not be tolerated". "Such cowardly acts will never be tolerated," the Minister, who is also the Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, said at a sports event here.
Rajnath Singh said he spoke to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and informed Sonowal that the Centre will deal with the perpetrators sternly, according to IANS.
Combing ops underway
Meanwhile, the Assam police Friday launched a "massive combing operation" to nab those involved in the killing of five people, including three members of a family, in Tinsukia district.
Police suspect the gunmen belonged to the ULFA (Independent) faction as they were dressed in battle fatigue, but the outfit has denied its involvement in the attack, PTI news agency reported.
Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia and Additional DGP Mukesh rushed to Tinsukia, shortly after the incident, to review the law and order situation, it said.
Talking to media in Guwahati, Saikia said, "A massive combing operation has been launched to nab the accused. No one involved in the incident will be allowed to escape. Since last night (Thursday), we have started several operations to nab the culprits," it added.
The lone survivor in the incident, identified as Sahadeb Namasudra, told reporters Friday morning he had a "providential escape" as he fell off the edge of the bridge, where the gunmen had lined up the six persons and shot five of them dead.
Though he did not sustain injuries, he fell unconscious out of fear and nervousness, the report said.
In a statement e-mailed to PTI, the Publicity Department member of the ULFA(I) Romel Asom, in said, "The ULFA (I) would like to make it clear to all authorities concerned that our organisation does not have any involvement in the firing incident last night," it added.
