Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday asked the police to deal with the latest spurt in killings in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts areas under the Bodoland Territorial Council with an iron hand and, if necessary, he said, they could take the help of the Army and paramilitary forces.
Mr. Gogoi’s directive, at a review meeting here, came in the wake of armed miscreants going on a killing spree in Kokrajhar district.
A woman, Sahera Bibi, was killed and three others were injured when gunmen opened fire indiscriminately at Salbari and Nalbari villages on Tuesday night. At Kachugaon village, miscreants gunned down Ashruddin Sheikh (45) and injured Akramul Haque Ahmed (27).
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The death toll in the clashes between Bodos and Muslims in Kokrajhar and neighbouring districts since July has risen to 102, with miscreants killing 97 persons in July and August and five persons over the past five days.
Arms haul
Meanwhile, a joint operation by Assam and Meghalaya led to recovery of a huge arms consignment near the Khetri police station on the outskirts of Guwahati on Tuesday night. Inspector General of Police (Central Western Range) L.R. Bisnoi said the consignment, from Dimapur in Nagaland, was meant for the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), a militant outfit of Meghalaya.
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Seven persons, including two GNLA cadres were arrested in connection with the recovery of nine weapons including two AK-47 rifles, six .32mm pistols, a grenade and 254 rounds of ammunition and a wireless set.