April 26: Alert to the possibility of the militant NDFB whipping up sentiments over the death of one of its members in police firing yesterday, the Assam government today wrote to Delhi pleading for a quick start to the proposed dialogue for peace.

The letter was addressed to Rajiv Agarwal, joint secretary in-charge of the Northeast in the Union home ministry, and mentioned complaints about extortion by the group.

The decision to write to Delhi was taken during a weekly review of law and order. The meeting coincided with a huge rally organised by the NDFB in Dhubri district to protest the death of its cadre.

The militant group, which has a ceasefire agreement with Delhi, has planned a sit-in demonstration on May 2 at all district headquarters to mount pressure on the administration to punish the police personnel involved in the incident.

An NDFB activist, identified as B. Dwithun, was shot dead at Sapatgram, in Bilasipara subdivision of Dhubri district, while trying to enforce a bandh in protest against the arrest of eight members of the group in Guwahati last weekend.

The police washed their hands of the incident, claiming that the militant was lynched by a mob when he and some accomplices forced traders to down shutters. ?The police did not open fire on the NDFB team. It was they who opened fire on the public after a chase in which two civilians were injured,? said inspector-general of police R.M. Singh, who is posted in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts.

A source at Diphu civil hospital, where Dr Haroon-ul-Rashid conducted the post-mortem, corroborated the police?s version. ?The deceased died after his belly was split with sharp weapons,? he said.

Police officials in Dhubri, however, declined to comment on the findings of the post-mortem till they received the report.

Dwithun?s body was handed over to his family at 4 pm.

Additional chief secretary P.C. Sarma said the government would ?definitely look into all aspects of the incident and do everything to restore normality and expedite the peace process.?

In Sapatgram, thousands of residents of Dhubri, Kokrajhar and Parbotjhora marched from Supharighat to the venue of the protest rally. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Dhubri district administration, seeking a judicial probe into the incident.

B. Dinthilang, the NDFB?s ?deputy army chief?, also demanded a judicial inquiry and ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the victim?s family.

Accusing the government of conspiring to malign the NDFB and trigger tension between the Bodos and non-Bodos, NDFB secretary general Govinda Basumatary said the police were now trying to distort facts. ?Our members had peacefully requested the traders to shut down their shops, to which they agreed. But while our men were returning, the police fired from behind. They later tried to give a twist to the story by describing it as an encounter. The police action was inhuman and barbarous,?he said.

The militant leader urged the Centre to end the Bodo impasse soon. ?We have been waiting for talks for 11 months, but the government is clearly indifferent.?