Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner M. Angamathu (left) hands over a cheque to Samson’s family at Japorijan on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Bokajan, Nov. 27: Few knew Samson Naguri beyond his village and the adjoining areas till yesterday. Today, he was declared a “martyr” for having sacrificed his life for the Adivasi community.

Naguri, the only person to have died in the road rage in Guwahati on Saturday, was cremated today at Joporajan, a back-of-beyond village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.

Like many others, the 46-year-old had come to Guwahati for the first time on Saturday to take a look at and get a feel of the city he had heard so much about and dreamt of visiting one day.

His dream died with him within a few hours of his arrival in the city as his life was snuffed out under the impact of cruel blows from bamboo sticks and human limbs. His family did not know about his death till his body arrived at the village last night.

His 39-year old widow, Phulmoni, is in deep grief but believes that her husband’s death was a “glorious sacrifice” for the community. To her, he is a martyr.

His eldest daughter Sangita Bilung said: “It was his first journey to Guwahati. We were waiting for his arrival on Sunday but were told by members of the All Adivasi Students Association of Assam that he had suffered minor injuries on his left leg during a clash in Guwahati. Since then, we were waiting for him to return so that he could be treated at Bokajan. We were not at all prepared to receive his body.”

Naguri had left with 500 others from Bokajan by train on November 23 to participate in the mass rally in Guwahati the next day.

“In the past, he had made several attempts to visit Guwahati... he had always wanted to visit the city. When he declared he would go to Guwahati with the others, we just told him to be careful while moving around the big city,” Phulmoni said.

Naguri was popular in Joporajan and its adjoining areas as a “doctor” who gave herbal medicines to the villagers free of cost.

He lived in his little hut with his wife and 21-year-old son Sumanta, a Class XII student. His two daughters, Sangita and Anita, are married.

“After his death, we have nobody to look after us as Sumanta is too young. But his dedication to the community gives us a different type of satisfaction, which we cannot express in words. He wanted to work for the deprived Adivasis and now we can say that he died for the community and is a martyr,” Phulmoni said. More than 10,000 people gathered in the front yard of Naguri’s hut to pay tributes. His body was cremated at noon in the presence of villagers and local administration officials.

Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu and superintendent of police Anurag Tankha were present during the cremation. They handed over Rs 20,000 to the family as special assistance from the local administration.

Of the 500 villagers who participated in the Beltola rally from Bokajan, 50 are undergoing treatment at the civil hospital. Fourteen seriously injured persons have been admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

A high-level team, led by the deputy commissioner, visited Bokajan civil hospital this morning.

“We have given Rs 5,000 to every person undergoing treatment. Two villagers, having major head injuries, were shifted to a Dimapur-based private nursing home today. Everybody will be treated free of cost and we will foot the bill of the nursing home,” Angamuthu said.