Communal Riots-2012.pdf - Indian Social Institute

also been given a copy of the amicus curiae report filed independently by Raju Ramachandran… (CNNIBN 16/7/12)Army called out in Assam as violence escalates (7)Kokrajhar, Assam: The Army was called out in Assam on Tuesday after the situation in the violence-tornKokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts deteriorated. The rail link between the State and the rest of thecountry got snapped and miscreants among Bodos and Muslims torched houses in a large number ofvillages. In a serious humanitarian crisis, more than 1,70,000 people have taken shelter in 121 reliefcamps. Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathi told The Hindu that the Defence Ministry had cleared thedeployment of the Army in the three districts after the State made the request, as sought by theadministration of these districts. He said the death toll had gone up to 32, including five who were killed inconfrontation with the police. Of the 121 relief camps opened in the three districts, 88 were set up inKokrajhar district. In another incident, miscreants stoned the Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express atSrirampur in Kokrajhar district, damaging four coaches. The train was pulled back to New Coochbehar inWest Bengal. The rail link was snapped, what with the escalation of violence and the lack of adequatesecurity along the 54-km stretch between Srirampur and Salakati in Kokrajhar. Thousands of passengershave been stranded at six stations in West Bengal and six others in Kokrajhar district, besides inGuwahati. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhispoke to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and assured him of all assistance from the Centre. Mr. Gogoi alsospoke to Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram; both promised tosend more troops to the State, an official release said. Inspector-General of Police (Bodoland TerritorialArea Districts) S.N. Singh said five persons were killed in Kokrajhar, when the police opened fire at thosewho tried to indulge in violence. Railway Minster Mukul Roy spoke to Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Gogoiand requested them to provide adequate security, especially in the “badly affected” stretch between theSrirampur and Salakati stations, so that the trains held up in the region for more than 24 hours could runto their destinations, said a release from the Press Information Bureau. Till 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 trainswere cancelled and 37 trains regulated. All-Bodo Students Union president Pramode Boro alleged thatthough the student body identified 27 vulnerable places and urged the State government to deployadequate forces, their presence was not visible in most of these places, resulting in people fleeing theirhomes and miscreants continuing with violence. Mr. Boro said the ABSU was ready for talks with the All-Assam Minority Students Union and the All-Bodoland Minority Students Union, if a meeting was facilitatedby the district administration. (The Hindu 24/7/12)Assam riots: Community no bar in ethnic clash (7)CHIRANG/ KOKRAJHAR: In the relief camps set up for the victims of the recent ethnic violence that hasrocked the twin districts of Chirang and Kokrajhar in Western Assam, bordering Bhutan, the gloomy facesof the relief camp inmates are darker than the overcast skies, and tell the story of their sufferings. Thespate of violence has spared none in these two districts, irrespective of community. This is an apparentsign that the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) - a Sixth Schedule administrative arrangement in whichthe two districts fall - and the state government have not learnt any lessons from the ethnic clash that bledUdalguri district in 2008. Over one lakh people were displaced and many killed in the 2008 ethnic violencein Udalguri, which is also under BTC. The BTC covers four districts - Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa andUdalguri. If Shahadat Ali (35) of Besorbari village in Chirang lost everything in the mindless violence,Durga Basumatary of Malgaon in Kokrajhar had to run for safety leaving behind her home and property. Itwas a cloudy Monday evening when Shahadat, an autorickshaw driver, was preparing for Iftar with hisfamily, that a horde of miscreants gutted his house. "We could not save any of our belongings. We rushedto the relief camps for safety with empty hands," he said. At least eight minority-dominated villages inChirang were gutted by miscreants on Monday. The arson continued even on Tuesday, with more villageswith Muslim populations being attacked. About 5,000 people from different villages neighbouringBesorbari are currently put up in three relief camps at Nangalbhanga, also in Chirang. About 150 houseswere gutted in these villages. On the other hand, the Bodos tell similar tales of suffering. DurgaBasumatary's village, Malgaon, in Kokrajhar was set on fire by miscreants on Tuesday morning. About 50houses were gutted in the village. The fear hangs heavy in Durga's words: "We ran for our lives when ourvillage was set ablaze. I didn't know where I was going when I left my village. My husband went inanother direction." While the Muslims are upset the violence has disrupted their holy month of Ramzan,the Bodos are no longer upbeat about the forthcoming post-harvest Nangalkrah festival as the current ricecultivation season has been spoiled by the turmoil. In Kokrajhar, more than 25 villages belonging to boththe Bodos and the Muslims have been gutted since Monday night. Tension prevailed at Sishubari inChirang till Tuesday noon when miscreants, armed with firearms and sharp weapons, came onto the