Tezpur, April 6: Two NDFB anti-talks faction cadres had to face the wrath of the residents of a village near Gohpur, who chased them with lethal weapons today after refusing to give in to their extortion demand.
The angry crowd, numbering around 2,000, then blocked the Gohpur-Itanagar road and NH52 at Khergate for four hours, forcing police to fire in the air, injuring 44 people.
Khergate is under Gohpur police station in Sonitpur district.
Sources said the incident happened at 9am when two suspected armed NDFB activists tried to extort money from villagers of Borigaon, 15km from Gohpur. The villagers subsequently mustered enough courage to chase the suspected cadres with lethal weapons. They first blocked the Gohpur-Itanagar road for 1 hour from 9am, and then blocked the national highway from 10am. The police firing began at 12.30pm.
The NH52 connects Jonai, the last Assam town in Dhemaji district near the Arunachal Pradesh border. Khergate, where the firing occurred, is about 135km from Tezpur and 15km from Gohpur town.
The distance between Gohpur and Itanagar is 35km and the blockade of the NH52 brought traffic between the two states to a standstill, creating problems for commuters. The protesters, armed with placards and sticks, also set several trucks on fire on the highway.
Sonitpur superintendent of police Anand Prasad Tiwari said one suspected NDFB activist, Janata Basumatary, who was allegedly involved in extorting the villagers had been arrested. “His injuries are of minor nature,” he said.
The other cadre — Jursang Basumatary — was also arrested later this evening. Both the arrested cadres are below 30 years of age.
The police also arrested 44 people armed with lethal weapons.
Among those injured in police firing, 17 were admitted to Gohpur civil hospital.
The Gohpur unit of Absu, while protesting against the NDFB’s extortion activities, also joined the blockade. President of Absu’s Sonitpur unit, Sunilal Basumatari, also resented the rise in extortion activities of militants.
Sonitpur district has been the hunting ground of NDFB in the recent past. Cadres of the outfit have been carrying out attacks on railway tracks, passenger buses and last year they attacked a section of villagers in Gohpur, Rangapara, and Dhekiajuli areas district. They also served extortion notices to several tea gardens. Prakash Agarwala, a trader in Gohpur, was shot dead by suspected NDFB cadres in Gohpur town last year. The railways had also suspended passenger services between Jonai and Rangia because of this threat. A number of militants has also been arrested in the district with arms and ammunition. The NSCN (K) is also active in the district.
The proximity to the border makes this area quite sensitive and volatile as militants and criminals quietly sneak into the neighbouring state after committing crimes in Gohpur and other neighbouring areas such as Sootea, Behali and Biswanath Chariali.
The north bank, which had gone to polls in the first phase, was considered one of the sensitive zones because of this threat.
“The government must protect us. We are passing sleepless nights year after year because of militant activities,” Suren Kakoti, a social worker from Gohpur, said.
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