By IANS
Guwahati : A 36-hour general strike called by tribals across Assam Monday was marred by violence, with strike supporters killing one person and injuring at least two others in sporadic incidents, officials said.
The strike, which began at 5 a.m. Monday, has been called by the All Adivasi (tribal) Students Association (AASA) to protest Saturday’s street clashes here that left one of their community members dead and more than 200 injured.
“Strike supporters waylaid a vehicle in the western Kokrajhar district and attacked its occupants before setting the car ablaze. One person has died and two others were injured,” a police spokesperson said.
Saturday’s clashes took place after thousands of tribals marching through a street in Guwahati to press for recognition of the community as a Scheduled Tribe for greater reservation and other benefits clashed with local residents when some of the protesters pelted stones at vehicles and ransacked shops.
The AASA strike, backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has evoked a mixed response across Assam with major cities including Guwahati remaining free from its impact. The AASA has said it would ‘not spare anybody’ violating the strike.
“We have sounded a red alert across the state, and have asked the police and the paramilitary forces to maintain strict vigil in all Adivasi strongholds, mostly the tea garden areas,” Assam minister Ripun Bora, who is also a state government spokesperson, said.
A militant tribal group, the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA), has meanwhile set a 36-hour deadline for the Assam government to furnish a list of those dead and injured in Saturday’s clashes.
Tribal leaders in the state have refused to accept the claim of the authorities that only one of the protesters died in the clashes in Guwahati.
AASA president Justin Lakra told reporters at least 20 of their protesters were killed during Saturday’s clashes. “The bodies had gone missing mysteriously,” he alleged.
Several tribal leaders, including former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren, are already camping in Guwahati, visiting hospitals and meeting government leaders to assess the situation.