New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Wednesday said that the bloody clash that took place between forest officials and villagers along the Assam-Meghalaya border on Tuesday was not over any border issue between the two states. As many as six people including five villagers from West Khasi Hills district and one Assam forest official died in the clash.
The firing occurred around 3 am in an area bordering West Karbi Anglong district of Assam and Mukroh village in Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills. "There was some unprovoked firing which could have been controlled easily," said Sarma on the sidelines of the 400th Birth Centenary celebration of Lachit Barphukan here in New Delhi.
He said that the incident was "not related to the border clash". "Let me tell you that it was not related to the border clash. It was a clash between forest guards and villagers over timber issue," the CM said. His government, meanwhile, has referred for an NIA or CBI investigation over the clash hours after Meghalaya said it would also seek a probe by a central agency.
Also read: Violence on Assam-Meghalaya border: Forest office vandalised, vehicle movements restricted
The incident took place at a time when Assam and Meghalaya governments were in talks to settle the decades-long border issue between both states. "We have already ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident and put all responsible persons under suspension," said Sarma.
Sarma said that his government has already announced monetary compensation for the next of kin of the victims. "Villagers cut timbers and they have carried them in a truck. When forest officials arrested three people, the people from the nearby villages confronted them and in the subsequent confrontation and clashes, five villagers died," said Sarma.
The Chief Minister also informed that he is in constant touch with his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma over the clash that took place in the border areas. Meanwhile, a cabinet delegation of the Meghalaya government will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 24 to discuss the firing incident, said officials.
