Muslims under siege in Assam: Part 4
By Diganta Sharma for TwoCircles.net,
Udalguri (Assam): The Sapprabari village in the district was plundered and destroyed and some villagers were killed by the Bodo miscreants on August 17.
On August 25, this reporter reached the village and met Md. Ohab Ali who escaped the gunfire and attack. He said what shattered him more is the fact that among the miscreants were those whom he knew and met often at the market.
Sahidul Islam, injured in a firing by bodo mob on 17th august 2008, in Saprabari village
On August 17, the villagers got the information that thousands of people were coming to Sapprabari across the Pachnoi River. They got this information from the police officer of Mazbat police station. A Bodo tribal man over the telephone warned the official about the incoming attack. The same information was sent to the police station at Rakhsashmari.
Ohab Ali shows one of the bullet fired by the Bodo militants
“When we tried to dissuade them from attacking the village and came face to face I was surprised to see Mahendra Limbu, Sarat Limbu, Ganesh Thappa, Ramen Swargiari, Gopal Bodo, Saban Basumatary, Raju Bodo, and Dilip Bodo. I knew them and frequently met at the market. They were in the mob. They had guns with them. Suddenly Raju Bodo, a tribal youth among them, shouted ‘shoot him’. Raju fired at me, I ducked and the bullet entered the body of Hanifuddin who was behind me. The second shot touched the body of my son Sahidul. By then the police had come. They tried to control the situation. The mob retaliated and the police fled the scene. In this turn of affairs we took to heels and escaped the tragedy. All the houses in the village were burnt to ashes,” said Ali.
Burn Saprabari village
What is more disturbing is that friends have turned foes and became part of the attacking mob. Now the question is how the familiar faces turned into enemies within days. Will they (Muslim victims) get compensation or security for life? Has the society considered what effects the violence would have on the children of the affected families? Is not the very movement to extradite the illegal immigrants the main reason of this suffering and tragedy? Who will answer these questions?
Monoara stands where her house stood once, in Saprabari village