Trains Blocked For 2 Days, Curfew In Assam Town As Police Firing Kills Two

Assam:  Over 2,000 passengers in Assam were stranded as trains headed for Silchar and Guwahati were stopped midway amid an indefinite curfew imposed in the Maibang area of Dima Hasao district after two people were killed in police firing on Thursday. The two men killed were among the hundreds of Dimasa tribals who were protesting the reported inclusion of the district as part of Greater Nagaland when the police opened fire to disperse crowds.

Southern Assam, Mizoram and Tripura are totally cut off due to this agitation, said Pranav Jyoti Sarma, Chief Public Relations Officer Northeast Frontier Railway. "The passengers have been waiting at the stations for more then 24 hours now. Railway property was vandalised and permanent damage caused to track. We can't run trains till we are sure of the safety of the track. So we are trying to evacuate passengers by road," he added.

Last evening, protesters took out a silent rally carrying their bodies in Haflong, the headquarters of Dima Hasao. A 48-hour bandh in Dima Hasao district was also called by several tribal groups to protest Thursday's police firing. As the region remains tense, the protesters are demanding the government's stand on the Nagalim issue in the context of the hill district in writing.

They also want immediate suspension of the top police officers besides jobs for the family members of the dead and Rs 5 lakh each for the 10 injured in police firing.

The district has seen protests over the last few days after a media report quoted an RSS functionary as saying that the draft of the Naga peace deal signed between the centre and armed group NSCN(IM) in 2015 shows that the district, where Dimasa is the dominant tribe, will be part of Greater Nagaland, as per a peace deal being negotiated by the central government. The Dimasa tribals are wary of losing their land to Nagaland, should the district be included in Greater Nagaland. The RSS leader, however, has said he was misquoted in the report.
 A 12-hour bandh called on Thursday turned violent after police charged batons ti disperse protesters clashed at the Maibang railway station. The protesters damaged rail tracks and vandalised the station after which several protesters were injured in police firing. Two of them died over the last two days.

"The death of two protesters is rather unfortunate but police had no other option but to fire. The situation is tense but we are in control and, in fact, Republic Day was celebrated there," Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay told NDTV.

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Meanwhile, an FIR has been filed against the police personnel involved in firing.

The Republic Day celebrations in Haflong were low key and wrapped up after the unfurling of the tricolour.