In Sonapur, Assam police open fire during confrontation

Assam Police fired in the air to scatter the mob in Kochutoli village in Sonapur area in Kamrup district of Assam. The event happened during an effort to remove those who were allegedly occupying a block of land without permission. Despite having previously been removed from the land, these individuals had returned. According to officials, a police and Sonapur circle office team went to the village to carry out the eviction. But when the locals attacked them with stones, sticks, and sharp-edged weapons, the situation became out of control. In addition to a police vehicle suffering significant damage in the mayhem, the attack injured a magistrate and over a dozen other police officers.

As a final resort, the cops used live bullets to get the team back in order and ensure their safety. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Thursday that the eviction drive in the Sonapur Tribal Belt and Block started amicably. The displaced people went back to their homes in the districts of Darrang and Morigaon. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, went on to say that tensions were high since the Congress party had publicly condemned the eviction campaign, which sparked protests and disturbances in the area. He claimed that many people had become enraged after Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia started to protest the effort through his tweet that morning.

The Chief Minister emphasized that, although the Congress party initially established tribal belts and blocks in the state, they are now speaking out against the eviction effort. He said that this incited the people’s wrath, which caused them to attack the police and injure the Circle Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Officer in Charge of Sonapur Police Station. When the police had to retaliate, two individuals died, seven more people were hurt, and 22 police officers were hurt. The minister reaffirmed that the drive to evict people from government-owned land would continue and that those residing on “Miyadi Patta” land would receive notice to leave. He even went to the extent of threatening that such incidents near Guwahati could signal something more serious would happen in the days to come.