GUWAHATI: Protestors on Monday torched the ancestral residence of Assam’s Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang.
The incident comes amid the demand for the eviction of “outsiders” from a few village grazing reserves (VGRs) and professional grazing reserves (PGRs).
At least three protestors were injured. The violence broke out at Donkamokam in the hill district of West Karbi Anglong, where tribal Karbis are in the majority. Ronghang’s house was gutted in the incident.
For the past fortnight, a group of protestors had been on a hunger strike at the Kheroni area of the district, demanding eviction. Trouble broke out after the police had picked up nine protesters on Sunday night.
Enraged over their detention, a large number of locals gathered at the site of the hunger strike on Monday morning. Soon, the situation flared up with the protestors blocking the road and allegedly vandalising shops.
Later, they proceeded to Donkamokam, a constituency of Ronghang located about 26 km away, to stage a demonstration. However, security personnel used force, firing blank shots to disperse the protestors, infuriating them further.
Even as they were fighting a pitched battle with the personnel, a few alleged protestors set fire to Ronghang’s house. Nobody was injured in the arson attack. Ronghang was away.
West Karbi Anglong, as well as Karbi Anglong, falls under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, where land is protected for indigenous tribal communities. The protesters alleged that vast swathes of VGRs and PGRs in West Karbi Anglong had been occupied by outsiders.
Last year, the KAAC administration had served eviction notices on the "illegal" settlers, but the settlers moved to the Gauhati High Court challenging the notices.
After the violence on Monday, Ronghang told the media that he did not intervene in the matter as it is sub-judice. “The case is in the court. If I had done anything, it would have been a contempt of the court, and I would have been punished,” he said.
The situation remained tense. Additional forces were rushed to the affected areas. According to reports, Minister Ranoj Pegu was on his way to the site at the direction of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.