GUWAHATI, April 4—Alarmed at the ethnic flare-up in Cachar district areas along the Assam-Mizoram border where Hmar People’s Conference (HPC) extremists have killed at least 23 Dimasa villagers, the State Assembly today decided to rush an all-party team headed by the Speaker Prithbi Majhi to take stock of the situation in the violence-affected areas. The speaker announced that the House team would leave early tomorrow even as the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi underlined the need for evolving a coordinated mechanism by all the NE States to fight insurgency jointly.
In response to a Zero Hour Motion brought by the BJP legislator from Silchar, Bimalangsu Roy who expressed concern over the ethnic flare-up in Cachar villages bordering Mizoram and demanded a statement from the Government on the measures taken to prevent recurrence of massacre of innocent villagers by tribal extremists, the Chief Minister informed that the Government was aware of the trouble brewing between Dimasa (DHD) and Hmar (HPC) militants.
He said, although the State Government had taken measures to gear up security in the area, it was not enough to prevent HPC ultras based in Mizoram to cross over the inter-State boundary and strike at three interior Dimasa villages. The Chief Minister confirmed that total 28 villagers including women were abducted by the marauding HPC extremists besides setting fire to villagers’ property. Bodies of at least 23 persons had been recovered so far while rest five abducted persons remained untraced, Sri Gogoi informed.
Sri Gogoi informed that it might have been a retaliation by the HPC to another attack on Hmar villages by the DHD ultras at Udarbund about a fortnight ago. He also said that it all started at the behest of the NSCN-IM which engaged the HPC to kidnap three DHD members sometime back from N C Hills to be killed later. In view of the militants based in one State striking at another State in the region becoming a practice these days, the Chief Minister today said there should have been coordination among neighbouring States in the region to tackle the menace of insurgency. He also regretted the failure of the Central Government to realise the urgent need for rushing additional companies of paramilitary forces to the State despite repeated pleas by the State Government.
Meanwhile, panic-stricken Dimasa villagers from violence-affected areas have been provided shelter at two relief camps. About 1000 people are now lodged in these two camps. The opposition leader and the AGP President, Brindabon Goswami called upon the State Government to raise additional battalions of Assam Police in view of the growing activities of insurgents in the State. He also suggested that the State administration should identify the most sensitive areas and gear up security in those areas to prevent recurrence of such incidents.