GUWAHATI: Nine people were injured, two of them critically, when the police opened fire to disperse protestors, who allegedly attempted to set a train and a railway station ablaze at Maibong in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Thursday.
The incident occurred during a 12-hour Dima Hasao bandh called jointly by some tribal organisations, following a report in a news portal that the hill district will be integrated with the proposed “Nagalim” or “Greater Nagaland” as part of the Centre’s peace agreement with the Naga insurgents.
The trouble broke out soon after the arrival of a passenger train at Maibong. The protestors, numbering several hundred, blocked its onward movement.
Assam’s director general of police (DGP), Mukesh Sahay, told The New Indian Express that 3,000 train passengers were left stranded and they were sheltered at a school.
“Initially, when the crowd went hostile and violent and started attacking the SP (superintendent of police), the DC (district magistrate) and others, the policemen tried to restore order by firing tear gas shells etc. But when they come under stone attack, they had to use firearms, injuring nine people in the process. Two persons are critical,” Sahay said.
According to unconfirmed reports received later, one of the passengers succumbed to injuries.
“The protestors tried to attack the train and the railway station. They also burned some furniture at the station. They attacked the SP and the DC, when the duo went to talk to them. Their vehicles were totally damaged. Some policemen and an additional DM sustained injuries,” Sahay said.
He also said the passengers were safe and under the care of the administration. The railway line is suspected to have been damaged. Once that is checked, the train movement will resume, he added.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said the train was traveling from Silchar in western Assam’s Barak Valley to Guwahati.
“The resumption of the train movement on the route will depend on how things unfold,” a Northeast Frontier Railway Zone spokesman said.
When reports last came in, the situation was said to be very tense, but under control.