Days after communal tensions flared up in Western Assam’s Dhubri after cattle remains were found near a temple, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the town on Friday and said shoot-at-sight orders will be in force in Dhubri district at night as “a communal group has become active to create unrest”.
“The order for shoot-at-sight will be issued immediately after I reach today,” the CM told reporters in Dhubri.
धुबरी में एक विशेष वर्ग हमारे मंदिरों को क्षति पहुंचाने की नीयत से सक्रिय हो चुका है।
We have issued SHOOT AT SIGHT ORDERS.
— (@himantabiswa)
“The shoot-at-sight order will be in force in Dhubri district at night. Whoever pelt stones, the police will shoot at them, if they have doubt,” Sarma said.
The tension in the town bordering Bangladesh began on Sunday, the day after Eid, with the discovery of a cattle head near the Hanuman temple.
On Monday, tensions escalated with protests and stone-pelting and police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.
The district administration had also issued prohibitory orders on Monday and shops and markets remained closed. The prohibitory orders were withdrawn on Tuesday with District Collector Dibakar Nath saying that the situation was under control.
मैं आज धुबरी में हालात का जायज़ा लेने गया था, और अगर आवश्यकता पड़ी तो फिर से जाऊंगा।
मैंने धुबरीवासियों को आश्वस्त किया कि किसी को भी डरकर जीने की ज़रूरत नहीं है।
असम सरकार आपके साथ है।
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa)
Three days after the prohibitory orders were withdrawn, the Chief Minister visited Dhubri on Friday to review the situation.
“Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF personnel will be deployed in the district. I have asked the SP to arrest all criminals in Dhubri against whom there are non-bailable warrants,” he said.
The CM also linked the unrest in the town to “external elements”. Dhubri, a Muslim-majority district, is located along the state’s border with Bangladesh. “The day before Eid, a group called ‘Nabin Bangla’ put up posters calling for the inclusion of Dhubri in Bangladesh. That means a communal group has become active to create unrest in Dhubri,” Sarma said.
All those who have taken law into their hands will be dealt with severely, he added.
“Earlier during Bakrid, a section of people did consume beef but this time thousands of cattle have been brought from West Bengal and a ‘new beef mafia’ has emerged in Dhubri who procured thousands of animals just ahead of the festival,” Sarma alleged. “I have ordered an inquiry into this. I have directed the authorities to arrest who has started this cattle trade,” the CM said.
He said that next year, he himself will come to Dhubri on the day of Eid and stay the next day as well.
“We cannot allow a section of the community to create such disturbances. Our government will not tolerate this,” Sarma said. On Friday, Dhubri police said that 22 people have been arrested so far in connection with the unrest in the town.
