Fresh violence erupted in the border areas of the two states on Wednesday even as the Assam Chief Ministers requested a probe by CBI.
AGENCIES / WEB DESK
The Assam government on Wednesday decided to hand over the investigation into the firing incident along the Assam-Meghalaya border to CBI even as fresh violence erupted in the border areas of the two states. At least two vehicles — one in Mukroh village and another in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong — were also set ablaze by a mob.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said he was also in favour of a probe by central agencies. A team of Meghalaya ministers will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to seek a central agency probe into the matter.
Reacting to violence that claimed six lives in a village along the Assam-Meghalaya border, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that police could have shown more restraint before firing bullets to quell the mob.
“Tuesday’s incident has nothing to do with the Assam-Meghalaya border issue. It was a result of a fight between two parties. Some locals and forest guards engaged in fighting which ultimately led to the incident. The loss of six lives is really unfortunate,” he said.
Moreover, the police team could have shown more restraint, the chief minister added.
- Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, whose party is an ally of the BJP, in a tweet tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, said Assam police and forest guards “entered Meghalaya and resorted to unprovoked firing”.
- On its part, Assam Police officials claimed that the truck was intercepted by a forest department team and a mob from Meghalaya had later attacked the forest guards and policemen from the state, which led to firing by the Assam side to bring the situation under control.