Jorhat, April 12: An uneasy calm prevails at Pengeri, a small town in Upper Assam's Tinsukia district, where 11 people were killed yesterday.

Hundreds of tea workers armed with bows, arrows and sharp weapons had stormed Pengeri police station yesterday, demanding that five persons, arrested for the murder of two persons belonging to the tea community last week, be handed over to them. As the police fired in the air to disperse the mob, a bullet reportedly hit a high-voltage wire which fell on the protesters. Ten were electrocuted while one died of bullet wounds.

Assam forest minister Atuwa Munda and additional director-general of police (law and order) R.M. Singh today rushed to Tinsukia from Guwahati following chief minister Tarun Gogoi's instructions. They flew to neighbouring Dibrugarh from where they went to Pengeri town, a distance of 115km, by road. After taking stock of the situation at Pengeri, they proceeded to Tinsukia town, 60km away.

Though the situation at Pengeri was under control today, following the deployment of a large number of security personnel and flag marches by the army last night, sporadic incidents of violence were reported from Tinsukia town and a few small towns in tea garden areas as protesters tried to enforce a 48-hour Tinsukia district bandh called by several organisations, including the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association and the All Adivasi Student's Association, from 5am.

The bandh supporters damaged some vehicles, burnt tyres on roads and assaulted a few persons as people came out in large numbers to the market on the eve of Bohag Bihu. However, timely intervention by the police brought the situation under control.

The bandh was lifted at 5 this afternoon following talks between the protesters and administration officials, Munda told The Telegraph over phone from Tinsukia town this evening. "In view of Bihu celebrations and to maintain peace and harmony among all communities, the protesting organisations have agreed to withdraw the bandh," he said.

Munda, who reviewed the law and order situation in Tinsukia district with Singh at Pengeri police station, said the government and the district administration had undertaken adequate measures to diffuse the tension. He said security personnel had been asked to exercise restraint to prevent escalation of violence. The minister, who is camping in Tinsukia tonight, said the police and the administration were conducting round-the clock vigil to maintain peace and order.

Munda also visited the Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh and talked to doctors about the condition of the injured.

Twenty persons were injured in yesterday's incident, of whom 13 were shifted to the AMCH while seven are undergoing treatment at Tinsukia civil hospital. One of the injured, Ganesh Gourh, who received bullet injuries on his chest and needs to undergo a complicated surgery, will be shifted from the AMCH to New Delhi for treatment at AIIMS or some other prominent institute.

Munda said among the 11 killed, eight have been identified, of whom six are women. The women identified are Lohani Orang, Tara Haluwai, Sitamoni Gourh, Sanibari Mura, Binita Bodra and Anita Das. The two men identified are Dipak Nayak and Joyram Orang. All hail from Pengeri and its neighbouring areas. All the deceased and the injured belonged to the tea tribe community.

He said in keeping with the chief minister's announcement, ex gratia would be paid to the next of kin of the deceased and to the injured at the earliest. The state government had, after yesterday's incident, declared an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs l lakh each to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 each to those who sustained minor injuries. The ex gratia for the deceased may go up to Rs 5 lakh on the basis of the deputy commissioner's report, a release issued by Dispur said. The government has also declared free treatment for the injured.

Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, the largest tea workers' union in the state, in a release issued this evening from its Dibrugarh central office, condemned the Pengeri incident and demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh each to the injured. It also demanded a judicial inquiry and punishment to those found guilty.

The chief minister had yesterday announced a judicial inquiry. The commissioner of Upper Assam division, Mukti Gogoi, said Tinsukia deputy commissioner Puru Gupta has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is also the BJP's Assam unit president and the party's chief ministerial candidate, also visited the AMCH and Tinsukia civil hospital today.