By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: In yet another act of violence, two persons were brutally killed by suspected militants loyal to the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit faction) in Assam’s Baksa district under Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) on Tuesday.
The All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) has threatened a state wide agitation if the government failed to book the culprits within 24 hours.
In May, at least 46 persons were killed in the BTAD by NDFB (S) militants. Few more people were killed in similar manner in the next six month totaling to approximately 50 people including May’s toll.
According to a senior official, the two persons were kidnapped before shooting them from close quarters in Labdanguri area. “We received information this morning about the incident. Preliminary reports say there are bullet marks but we will be able to confirm it only after the post-mortem,” Baksa deputy commissioner Vinod Seshan told media.
The two deceased have been identified as Jamal Khandakar, 50, and Yusuf Ali, 38, both farmers from Labdanguri area in Baksa district. They had gone to the market to buy straw this morning when they were kidnapped by the militants, the officer said.
A senior police official from the spot said the two persons were shot from point blank range as their injuries were seen in their neck. Four armed men kidnapped the two persons this morning from Mainamatha Pathar village and then killed them. Their bodies were recovered from a place between Hilasiguri and ‘I Love You Market’, the official told a news agency.
Meanwhile, the All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) condemned the incident and demanded that the culprits be booked within 24 hours. “The militants keep on killing the innocent people and the state government just does nothing. We ask the state government to book the culprits within 24 hours or we will start a state wide agitation,” said ABMSU general secretary Lafiqul Islam Ahmed.
The students’ body also suspected it to be a political killing ahead of the Bodoland Territorial Council Election in 2015. “The NDFB has already created so many problems in the region. Now they want to threaten the Muslims and other Non-Bodo people in BTAD. We urge the state government to take immediate measures in this regard and demand that all the illegal arms and weapons be seized. The government should try to bring peace in the area,” he said.
The BTAD Citizens’ Rights Forum (BCRF) has also condemned the incident and called for strict action from the Tarun Gogoi led state government. “Time and again innocent people are being killed in BTAD in broad day light but no action has been taken so far. BTAD has turned to be a death valley of innocents. We urge the state government to adopt strict measures so that common people can live in BTAD,” the Forum said.