Photo and text by Anjuman Ara Begum for TwoCircles.net
December 1, 2002 is a day that the people of Adhiapara under Hajo PS, Kamrup, Assam will never forget. On that day ten persons including one Army Major were killed in a fierce encounter between the villagers and the armed officers.
Adhiapara Masjid
The incident was sudden and quite unexpected. It was a day of the holy month Ramadan and being the day of the Friday, villagers were busy with their daily works as usual when a group of Army personnel belonging to Assam regiment entered the Adhiapara village in a Tata Sumo vehicle (registration number AS 01- M 3714). The vehicle stopped near the house of recently retired school teacher Tomiziddin Ahmed on the suspicion that he was hiding arms and ammunition and also providing shelter to ULFA members.
One Mohammad Ali, who the villagers now suspect to be an informer, succeeded in persuading the army group to believe that Tomizuddin is providing shelter to ULFA members. Mohammed Ali was a surrendered ULFA member and offered himself to be an informer for the Army.
Azizur Rahman still suffering from different complications
The army group was led by company commander, Major Rah Thabah, hailing from Meghalaya. Villagers informed that Ali’s game plan was to try to extort money from a school teacher of that village, and so he told the Assam Regiment battalion that there was a group of ULFA militants in the school teacher’s house. When Major Thabah’s group operating in civil clothes came to the village, the villagers mistook them to be ULFA militants. The major along with his associates entered the house of Tomizuddin around 1 pm. There was no one at home as the male members of the family were gone for the Friday prayer.
All the members of the army group were inside when villagers gathered and attacked them. Major Thabah tried to explain but there was hardly anyone to believe him. The army group started firing to save themselves. Several villagers were injured in the process. All persons holding AK -47 in civil cloth must be terrorists belonging to ULFA, the villagers thought. When villagers encircled the house of Tomizuddin with daggers, big knives, sharp trident shaped weapons, the Major came out first and tried to negotiate. Unfortunately Major Thabah and Jawan Debojit Deori were killed on the spot. Other members of the group in order to find a way to escape started firing indiscriminately. They came out of the house and continued to fire while running away. Seven ordinary Muslim villagers were killed in the process and several injured. Meanwhile villagers also burnt down the Tata Sumo vehicle and the driver was severally beaten by the villagers. The drive later succumbed to the injuries. Those killed are
1. Tofid Ali, son of Himan Biwi, 17 years old
2. Meser Ali, 45 years old
3. Farmud Ali, 48 years old
4. Mohnur Ali, 40 years old
5. Ali Akbar, 48years old
6. Mohiuddin Ahmed, 57 years old
7. Nizan Ali, 55 years old
8. Major Thabah, 40 years old
9. Debojit Deori
10. Chandan Rajbanshi ( driver of the Tata Sumo)
Memorial built by the villagers at Adhiapara
The incident completed 9 years now. Villagers of Adhiapara still remember the day with tears and fear and pray that such an incident never happens again. State government has also instructed the security personnel not to believe in the information provided by the surrendered militants without verification.
The Government of Assam provided rupees 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed vide letter no. RR.146/2006/69 dated April 26, 2007 and the injured were given rupees 10 thousand for treatment.
Samser Ali was injured during the firing
Himan Bibi, mother of Tofid Ali
Funeral prayers for the dead [archive photo]