Violence escalated in trouble-torn Kokrajhar district on Sunday with a senior DIG rank police official and three others injured in mob attack prompting police to fire in self-defence, while the death toll in the last two days' clash between Bodos and immigrants rose to 12.
IGP (BTAD) S.N. Singh said that DIG S. Kumar and Kokrajhar Additional Superintendent of Police Amar Choudhury were on their way to assess the situation in Fakiragram area on Sunday when their convoy was blocked by a mob demanding release of 10 people held in connection with the killing of four former Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) cadres.
The police officials urged the mob to move out but were instead pelted with stones. Kumar was hit on his head, while two of his personal security officers also got injured. The police resorted to lathicharge and finally opened fire to disperse the crowd in which another person was injured while the vehicles of both the DIG and ASP were damaged by the mob, Singh said.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the last two days' clash rose to 12 with the recovery of three more bodies, including of a woman and her child, from the banks of river Gouranga while another body was recovered from Kathalbari area, he said.
Night curfew was reimposed from 6 p.m on Sunday to 6 a.m on Monday with Section 144 CrPC in force in the entire district till further orders, Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar, Donald Gilfellon said.