Guwahati, September 21 (PTI): Assam government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the killing of two alleged United Liberation of Bodoland (ULB) militants by policemen, a day after a 12-hour bandh to protest the death brought life in the four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) to a standstill. An order issued by Assam government said Divisional Commissioner of Lower Assam Jayant Narlikar has been directed to inquire into the circumstances leading to the death of two suspected ULB militants in an encounter with the police at Ultapani in Kokrajhar district on September 18. Narlikar was tasked to submit the report within 15 days. The killing of the two suspected militants evoked wide-spread protests in the BTR with a 12-hour bandh called by All Bodo Peoples (ABP) shutting down normal life in the region on Monday.
Several political and non-political organizations and leaders have strongly condemned the killings, claiming the encounter was 'staged' and the youths killed were innocent. Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) Chief Hagrama Mohilary on Tuesday appealed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to initiate a high level probe by the CBI into the encounter in the "interest of peace and tranquility" in the BTR. The police had claimed on Saturday that two suspected militants of a newly formed outfit, United Liberation of Bodoland (ULB) had been killed and their camp busted while two pistols and grenades were recovered from the encounter site.
