Guwahati: At least two people were killed and 20 others injured on Thursday when a mob protesting Assam government’s “eviction drive” clashed with police in Assam's Darrang district.
Shocking videos showed police firing on those protesting against the government’s eviction dive – almost all of them Muslims, above their chest and seemingly with intention to kill without warning.
In one video, Bijoy Bonia, a cameraman working with the government, is seen desecrating the dead body of a lonely Muslim elderly man killed in the police firing.
Shocked to see police firing on the chest of a frail man running with a stick more shocking is that the reporter jumps on dead body while #Assam police stands Totally inhuman act by @assampolice We want strong action against that cameraman. @CMOfficeAssam @UNHumanRights @BDUTT pic.twitter.com/4H73Zyf9nN— Imran Solanki (@imransolanki313) September 24, 2021
Shocked to see police firing on the chest of a frail man running with a stick more shocking is that the reporter jumps on dead body while #Assam police stands Totally inhuman act by @assampolice We want strong action against that cameraman. @CMOfficeAssam @UNHumanRights @BDUTT pic.twitter.com/4H73Zyf9nN
Officials alleged that around 800 families of Bengali-speaking Muslims were “unlawfully“ occupying about 4,500 bighas (602.40 hectares) of government land for many years and the government recently decided to use the land for agricultural purposes by removing the settlers.
On Monday, when the eviction drive was started, some families had even removed their houses themselves and shifted elsewhere.
According to the officials after a break of two days, the police re-launched the eviction drive on Thursday when the agitated mob in Dholpur tried to put up a strong resistance leading to the violence that killed at least two persons in police firing. The slain people have been identified as Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Forid.
The incident triggered widespread condemnation, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi calling the police action "state-sponsored fire".
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted:
"Assam is on state-sponsored fire. I stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the state - no children of India deserve this".
State Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, condemning the "barbaric act" of police firing, said:
"The very act of eviction is itself inhuman, especially during the Covid situation. The Supreme Court had also given a directive against eviction during the pandemic, yet the Assam government has remained adamant behaving in an autocratic manner to evict the residents who have been living in the area since the 1970s."
He said the government should have arranged for rehabilitation and alternative housing ahead of the eviction drive.
Sharing the video of the incident on Twitter, CPI-ML Politburo member Kavita Krishnan tweeted :
"What protocol orders firing to the chest of a lone man coming running with a stick Who is the man in civil clothes with a camera who repeatedly jumps with bloodthirsty hate on the body of the fallen (probably dead) man?"
All India United Democratic Front MLA Rafiqul Islam strongly criticised the Chief Minister saying Sarma planned the drive "to please Nagpur (RSS headquarter)".
"God will give justice. Eviction for cultivation is fine but it should have been done after rehabilitating these landless people," he said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the police were forced to take action as the mob of several hundred people protesting the eviction drive, attacked the security personnel with sticks, machetes, and spears.
Sarma, who also holds the Home Department, said the eviction drive, which had started on Monday, would continue on Friday.
Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who is now camping at Sipajhar, to take stock of the ground situation, said that the cameraman Bijoy Bonia, who is seen in the video jumping on the body of the protestor shot in his chest, has been arrested.
"As per the direction of the Chief Minister, I have asked the CID to investigate the matter," he said, adding that the cameraman is now in CID custody.
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