By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,
Guwahati: Troubles, one after another seems to be a regular affair in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Aras District (BTAD). Kidnapping, killing, extortion etc were added by a grenade blast in Bongaigaon on Monday evening which left three persons seriously injured to put the region into more trouble.
Several organizations under the banner of Sanmilito Janagosthiya Sangrami Samiti: Assam (SJSS) have sought interference of Assam governor JB Patnaik to bring normalcy. They have also accused the extremist activities in the area and demanded arrest of certain Bodoland People’s Party leaders for an alleged murder case in Baksa besides exclusion of non-Bodo majority villages from BTAD.
Members of Sanmilito Janagosthiya Sangrami Samiti: Assam stage protest near Assam governor house seeking his intervention to solve BTAD problems.
“We think no permanent solution to the Bodo tangle is possible without negotiation with the non-Bodo ethnic organizations. We hope the governor will directly intervene in the Bodoland Territorial Council affairs and take appropriate steps to solve our demands,” said SJSS chief convenor Brojen Mahanta.
Off late, the region has witnessed a steep rise on the crime scene with armed miscreants kidnapping government officials, businessmen and others and killings.
The organization who staged a silent protest near Governor House in Guwahati also submitted a memorandum with the demands. They feel that the government’s decision to hold one sided talks with Bodo leadership is creating a sense of insecurity for the non-Bodo people residing in the BTAD. “The process of one sided talks just with the Bodo leadership and the idea of separate state should be stalled,” Mahanta said.
Besides, they are demanding the unconditional and complete rehabilitation of all the Muslim, Adivasi, Rajbonshi and other families who have been displaced by the extremists’ movements.
Further, they alleged that the BPF leaders were directly involved in the murder of Sanjay Das (22) and Bidyut Kalita (14) at Jalagaon-Nalbari during the Assam bandh called by the Sangram Samiti and its ally organisations on October 30.
“Payment of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to each family of Das and Kalita should be given at the earliest. There should also be a high level inquiry in to the ongoing unrest at Bijni and other areas of BTAD,” Mahanta added.
Char-Chapori Sahitya Parishad (CCSP), a literary body also urged chief minister Tarun Gogoi to take steps so that the situation does not get worst in the area. “We are worried with the prevailing tensed situation in Chirang that ethnic violence may reoccur. We request the CM to take stern measures to normalize the situation,” CCSP president Hafiz Ahmed said in a written statement sent to CM.