By Mahtab Alam for TwoCircles.net,
Vidyapur, Bongaigaon: The details about the Monday night killings in Bilasipar area of Dhubri district are coming out. Three persons were killed and two others wounded when armed Bodos came in military uniform and opened fire outside a mosque in Ranikhuli village in Bilasipara subdivision.
Locals said Muslims in Ranikhuli area which is on Kokrajhar-Dhubri districts border, were offering Travih (special night prayers during Ramazan) on Monday. They had feared some attack, so they had deployed six of them outside the mosque as vigilant. While others were offering prayers, the six were guarding outside the mosque. Meanwhile, some armed men in military dress (green olive color) came up. The Muslims thought they were from army and so didn’t get alarmed but as soon as they came near they started firing on the Muslims, killing down three on the spot while two were seriously wounded who were admitted to hospital.
In protest, local Muslims blocked National Highway 31 on Tuesday morning. The team with whom this scribe was travelling was given a police cover but due to blockade of the road they give up their plan to visit Kokrajhar. The police left the team while leaving them at a relief camp in Vidyapur village in Bongaigaon.
In the Vidyapur High School camp, there are 2100 people from Chirang and Kokrajhar districts. They are getting little support from the government. The camp is locally managed by both Muslims and Hindus. The situation is grim at the camp.
Three weeks have passed since the violence broke out, but government has neither provided proper relief to victims at camps, nor got control over armed Bodo gangs who seem to be roaming freely in Bodo Territorial Council area.
Just a day before the Monday night killings, four persons were killed in Kokrajhar. Three of them were father and two sons. It is said they had left their camp in Kokrajhar for their village but as they reached the village they were gunned down by armed Bodos. Over four lakh people have become homeless due to the violence since last month.