Mangaldoi/Kokrajhar/Guwahati, Oct. 5: Thirty-one people have died and nearly 76,000 have taken shelter in relief camps after three days of violence in the Bodo belt, allegedly fanned by the recalcitrant National Democratic Front of Boroland.

The group clashes that began in Udalguri and Darrang on Friday, claimed 10 today, and spread to Baksa, where one person was killed.

The NDFB, however, denied its involvement in the clashes. A statement issued by “information and publicity secretary” of the NDFB, S. Sanjarang, on Sunday evening termed the reports of the outfit being involved in the clashes as baseless.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had earlier said the government would be forced to review its stand regarding the ceasefire-bound NDFB if its involvement in fomenting trouble was proved.

Government spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma, after touring the affected areas with ministerial colleagues Rockybul Hussain, Nazrul Islam and Gautam Bora, told reporters that of the 10 who died today, three were from Aminpara and five from Dimakuchi in Udalguri district. Two died in police firing in Darrang’s Mazgaon area when the warring groups refused to heed police warnings to disperse.

The three killed in Aminpara were allegedly shot by NDFB cadres.

Four of their cadres were arrested in neighbouring Baksa district for allegedly killing a 50-year-old woman this afternoon with the intention of fomenting trouble.

Baksa superintendent of police P.K. Dutta said: “The victim was accompanied by her seven-year-old grandson, Mohammad Manshur Ali, when the NDFB members attacked her. We have arrested four members involved in the attack. Two of the arrested were identified by the victim’s grandson. I can’t give the names but the cadres came to Baksa district from Udalguri with the intention of fomenting communal tension here, since the district has remained untouched by the violence in Udalguri and Daring.”

Threatening to withdraw the ceasefire with the NDFB for allegedly violating ceasefire ground rules and fuelling trouble, Sarma said shoot-at-sight orders have been issued against anyone who is armed and people moving around in groups.

The minister, however, ruled out the involvement of suspected Bangladeshis.

Nearly 102 people have been injured in the clashes and have been admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Mangoldoi civil hospital and Kanaklata Civil Hospital in Tezpur.

Nearly 26,000 people are living in 26 relief camps in Darrang and another 50,000 have been accommodated in 32 relief camps in Udalguri.

“We are trying our best to restore normality at the earliest and all possible steps are being taken,” Sarma said.

A senior official, who attended a security review meeting at the chief minister’s residence this evening said Tarun Gogoi, who cancelled a trip to Mumbai following the clashes, was “perturbed and angry”.

The army carried out a flag march in both Udalguri and Darrang and a curfew has been in place since Friday.

The affected, however, continued to complain about lack of security and lessons not learnt from the riots that broke out in Udalguri two months ago.

Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who visited the clash-hit areas today, told reporters that the Gogoi-led Congress government has failed to protect the lives and properties of the people. He described the communal tension in Udalguri and Darrang districts as worse than that in Orissa.

Several organisations today distributed relief material among the camp inmates.