Assam ethnic strife takes ugly turn
The ethnic strife, which was brewing since December in proposed Rabha-Hasong autonomous council areas of Assam, took an ugly turn on Sunday with people resorting to arson and intimidation to non-Rabha community, which is alleged to have been supporting panchayat elections in Goalpara and Kamrup (rural) districts.
The district administrations, which have been asked to hold panchayat elections even after the protest, said that a mob of unidentified persons set ablaze the Madpara LP School near Krishnai and Borpathar LP School near Dudhnoi on Saturday night and the buildings of the schools were completely devastated. In a similar incident, a wooden bridge at Khotapara-Ambari area was set on fire in trouble-torn Goalpara district.
Earlier on Saturday morning, a zonal election officer, Robin Chandra Mahanta, was torched while a police Gypsy was damaged by aggrieved villagers belonging to the Rabha community at Bardamala under Agia police station of the district.
On Friday, the house of Sanat Sarma, a candidate contesting the rural poll in Bapunagar, was torched while 15 shops, a weekly market shed and a truck carrying LPG cylinder were attacked with petrol bombs by suspected supporters of Rabha-Hasong, opposing the panchayat poll.
Fear of more violence in the run-up to the panchayat poll was looming large on the state with the Rabha Hasong Joint Movement Forum (RHJMF) calling the 36-hour public curfew in the Rabha-Hasong Autonomous Council area from Monday to disrupt panchayat elections scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, state government sources said that administration has established contact with leaders of the Rabha Hasong Joint Movement Forumhas to persuade the leaders to withdraw the public curfew and allow the panchayat election to take place.
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