Guwahati/Nagaon, July 19: A petty dispute triggered a burst of ethnic violence in Karbi Anglong district of Assam last night, leaving five Hindi-speaking persons dead, a dozen injured and a cluster of houses in flames.

Police said a mob of Adivasis armed with bows and arrows raided a village of settlers from Bihar and attacked the sleeping residents within a few hours of a verbal duel between members of the two communities.

The genesis of the incident was something as innocuous as a herd of cattle straying into a sugarcane field tended to by migrants staying in Rajapathar near Bokoliaghat under Howaraghat police station.

Three men and two women were killed in the attack, while 12 critically injured. The Adivasis torched 46 houses before they left the area. Over a dozen residents were reported missing after the incident.

The victims were identified as Ramratan Chauhan, Rameswari Devi, Nandalal Chauhan, Sughama Chauhan and Lalmoti Devi.

Two of the injured were taken to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital while the rest were admitted to civil hospitals in Diphu, the district headquarters, and adjoining Nagaon town.

Apprehensive of a backlash by the settlers ? Karbi Anglong has a history of ethnic violence ? the district administration today deployed the police and security forces in all violence-prone pockets.

There was no information, however, on the whereabouts of the migrants reported missing after the Adivasi raid. The police suspect they were taken hostage by the Adivasis.

Deputy commissioner Anurag Goel and superintendent of police Pankaj Sharma led an official team to Rajapathar village this morning. Khorsingh Ingti, the chief executive member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council, and executive member Som Ronghang followed suit.