Guwahati: The Assam government will launch a judicial probe into the gruesome killing of a 16-year-old school girl by suspected Bodo militants, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said Tuesday.
Priya Basumatary was killed in Chirang district Aug 20 by suspected militants of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) faction opposed to peace talks.
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka informed the assembly Tuesday that the government will write to the Gauhati High Court on the issue.
The killing of the girl rocked the ongoing assembly session Monday with opposition legislators from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) demanding a discussion on the issue.
The legislators also wanted a discussion on the recent violence near the Assam-Nagaland border that left at least nine people dead and over 10,000 homeless in Assam’s Golaghat district.
Suspected NDFB militants had shot dead the teenaged girl in front of villagers after accusing her of being a police informer.
Police said the militants killed the girl to avenge a shootout in which five Bodo militants were killed.
Gogoi has clarified that the girl was not a police informer and said she became a victim of an inhuman act of violence.
The government also said her name will be recommended for the National Bravery Award and that the state will institute a bravery award in her name.
The chief minister has also announced Rs.20 lakh as financial assistance to her family and directed police to launch a manhunt to nab the killers.