Contrary to what Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi claimed, the situation in trouble-torn Western Assam continues to be fluid with Army, police and paramilitary forces struggling to contain the situation.
The arson and mob violence, which escalated further on Tuesday and engulfed Dhubri district, forced the district administration to impose curfew in Bilasipara and many new areas of the district while shoot-at-site order was given to security forces to stop the mob violence which was reported from Bilasipara and Dhubri town area of the district.
The arson and mob violence continued in worst hit Kokrajhar district where fresh incidents of arson was reported from Fakiragram, Serfanguri, Narabari, Gossaigaon, Dotoma, Mokrajan and Tulsibari areas even after curfew and shoot-at site order. The rampaging miscreants set ablaze hundreds of abandoned houses.
Police resorted to firing at more than 20 places as a mob also attacked the Rajdhani and the North East Express trains, which were stranded at Kamakhyaguri and Srirampur railway station respectively on Tuesday.
The Army was staging a flag march in violence-hit areas. Though Assam DGP Jayanta Choudhury claimed to have sufficient forces, residents in most of the vulnerable areas were in panic because of thin presence of security forces.
Western range DIG Surendar Kumar, who is camping in Dhubri, told this newspaper that security forces in Bilashipara quelled a major trouble when mob tried to set an abandoned village on fire.
The Army and the police avoided a similar attempt in Kokrajahr when a mob of more than 400 minority immigrants from Joypur tried to proceed towards Kokrajhar town on Tuesday.
In yet another incident of arson, a mob of nearly 300 people set ablaze a camp of disbanded Bodoland Liberation Tigers at Sapotgram where police resorted to open fire in the air. The angry mob also tried to attack the security forces for defending ex-BLT cadres, whom mob was accusing to have been acting as private militia of Bodo leaders.
Meanwhile, district authorities in Dhubri told this newspaper that they are waiting for additional enforcement to reach. Informing that night curfew has been imposed all across the district, the authorities said that majority of those fled their homes in Kokrajhar are taking shelter in their district.