Hojai sub-divisional police officer Prasanta Dutta (in uniform) holds a meeting at Dabaka police station and (above) a policeman checks the papers of a biker in Dhubri on Wednesday. Telegraph pictures

Dabaka/Dhubri, Sept. 29: Md Tafajjul Ali and Rathin Das, businessmen from Kurkur basti and Nayamati in Dabaka, had witnessed communal violence rock this town in Nagaon district nearly 18 years ago with 39 persons being killed by the time the sun had set on December 6, 1992.

A day before Allahabad High Court is scheduled to deliver its Ayodhya judgment, Ali and Das today spoke the same language with the drift being “let’s get it over with.”

“It has been nearly 18 years since so much blood was spilled here...the images remain vivid in the memory and every time the Ayodhya issue comes up in some form or the other, tension resurfaces. Let tomorrow be the last time when we hear about it,” 45-year-old Ali said. “We all have full faith in the judicial system,” he added.

Das agrees. “We do not want to revisit 1992. There are a lot more things to do around here — development being the priority. Let the issue be settled once and for all and the court is the right institution to do it since we as a people have failed to resolve the matter among us.”

The feelings of Das and Ali found echo in Dhubri, several hundred kilometres to the west of Dabaka, where 14 persons had died in communal violence on December 8, two days after the Babri Masjid demolition.

As in Dabaka, an air of uneasiness hangs heavy over Dhubri town, notwithstanding the sane voices of Tazmul Hoque or Ram Nath Sharma, both of whom had lost their near and dear ones. Hoque lost his brother, Monowar Hussain, then 26, and Sharma lost his nephew, Nabal Kishore Sharma, then 30.

A resident of ward 7 of Dhubri town, Hoque shudders to even recall the day. “That is long gone. For the past 18 years, I have tried to forget it. There is no point in bringing up the matter. I only hope that everyone exercises utmost restraint, no matter what the court decides. 1992 must not be allowed to happen again, it is our responsibility,” he said.

Sharma, 70, of Railgumti in Dhubri said, “I know the pain of losing a dear one. I can understand how others who lose their near and dear ones feel. Bahut ho gaya ... ab aur nahin (Enough has happened, let it not happen again),” he said, struggling to keep his emotions under control.

Police are leaving nothing to chance in both the places. Hojai police have formed four peace committees, one in each police station area.

“Right now, we have a company of CRPF while another is reaching Dabaka from Hamren subdivision of Karbi Anglong district tonight. We are keeping a tight vigil through patrolling,” Hojai subdivisional police officer Prasanta Dutta said.

“Some people had moved out from some interior areas during the past few days for safety and security. But they returned after we assured them of safety through the peace committees,” he added.

Nagaon deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu visited Dabaka on Monday to take stock of the situation and review security preparedness.

Giving out a stern warning, Dhubri superintendent of police Dipak Choudhury said, “Let everyone understand that none is above the law and anyone found inciting trouble will not be spared. I have forces to face any situation.”

He said additional Assam Police battalions had reached Dhubri and were being deployed in areas that had a history of riots and communal tension.