Broken windows of the bungalow. Picture by Shankarlal Agarwal

Jorhat, Dec. 29: Police today resorted to a lathicharge and blank firing to quell a mob of tea workers who ransacked the bungalows of the manager and the doctor at Borhat tea estate in Assam’s Sivasagar district following a woman worker’s death last night.

The tea workers were protesting the garden management’s alleged negligence that led to the death of Raimati Majhi, 60, a permanent worker of the garden, around 7 last evening. The garden is under Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd.

The labourers first attacked the bungalow of Dr B.K. Gogoi this morning and then broke open the gate of manager Pratul Bora’s bungalow and ransacked his house. The doctor was not present in the bungalow at that time.

The tea security force personnel guarding the manager’s bungalow and the few policemen who arrived there soon after led by Borhat police station officer-in-charge M. Haque were injured as the mob pelted stones.

The ransacked bungalow of the Borhat tea estate manager in Sivasagar district on Thursday. Picture by Shankarlal Agarwal

“I have never seen such mob fury. The few of us present there could not prevent the labourers from breaking open the gate and destroying flowerpots, windowpanes and furniture. They also hurled stones at us. We had to summon additional police force and resort to blank firing and lathicharge to quell the mob,” Haque said.

About 10 labourers were injured in the lathicharge.

The manager, his wife and two daughters were escorted out of the tea estate under heavy security. Both Gogoi and Bora are under police security.

Sahadev Dhanowar, president of the Sonari Anchalik Samiti of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association, said the woman worker who was being treated at the garden hospital had been asked to come to work though she was not completely cured.

“Raimati Majhi had been released from the hospital a few days ago and had been asked to take rest till her condition improved. However, she was asked to come to work and warned that if she continued to be absent, her name would be struck off the list of regular workers. After working for two days, she collapsed last evening and was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead,” Dhanowar said.

The OC said the labourers complained of bad behaviour and negligence by the hospital authorities and apathy by the management.

Raimati’s body lay in front of the hospital till evening as protesters demanded adequate compensation to her family, action against the manager and the doctor and the appointment of a better doctor.

An official of the management said Raimati had been asked to retire in view of her age and ailment but had refused to do so.

Senior district administration officials have rushed to the tea estate to pacify the workers.

In another incident at Mathurapur tea estate in Sivasagar district, which borders Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, labourers caught three youths and recovered an AK-47 rifle from them.

The youths have been identified as Rumkhang Konyak from Mon district in Nagaland and Bijoy Kharia and Biju Orang from Namtola in Sivasagar district.

The labourers, who were working in Nimnagar division of the tea estate that borders Nagaland, spotted the three youths repairing the rifle.

When questioned, the youths threatened to shoot them. This angered the labourers who summoned others, caught the trio, beat them up and handed them over to the police.

A police officer said investigations were on and did not rule out a link between the youths and militants.