Guwahati/Silchar, April 11: A day after leaders of the warring Hmar and Dimasa tribes agreed to rebuild bridges of friendship, 80 more houses were set ablaze at Khepre near Maibong in North Cachar Hills district of Assam.
Inspector-general of police (law and order) S.B.Kakoti said in Guwahati that suspected Hmar tribesmen set fire to a row of houses belonging to Dimasas and hurled grenades at the villagers. However, nobody was injured.
The incident took place even as curfew was relaxed for three hours in Haflong, giving people an opportunity to replenish stocks of essential commodities. Sources said prices of various items had spiralled, a kg of potato now costing as much as Rs 20 in the district headquarters.
Dimasa and Hmar leaders had assured North Cachar Hills deputy commissioner I. Hussain yesterday that there would be no more clashes. Pranab Nunisa, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD), attended the meeting along with student leaders of the two communities.
DHD vice-president Dilip Nunisa told The Telegraph today that the outfit’s president, Jewel Garlosa, had asked the rank and file to exercise restraint.
With security forces finding it difficult to deal with the situation because of the inhospitable terrain, five additional companies of the Assam Police Battalion have been deployed in the strife-torn district.
Government officials believe violence will not subside until the Centre puts a leash on militant outfits active in the area. Union minister of state for home I.D. Swami is scheduled to visit Assam tomorrow.
Dimasa refugees sheltered in relief camps in Cachar district have refused to return to their villages until the administration guarantees them “absolute security”. In contrast to the situation in North Cachar Hills district, a semblance of order seems to have been restored in Cachar since the March 31 massacre on Mastul Hill.
A senior government official admitted that convincing the 614 Dimasa refugees in Dholai and Ganganagar to return home was easier said than done. He said veterinary minister G.C. Lang-thasa, who is from the Dimasa tribe, spoke to inmates of the relief camps yesterday but they refused to go back to their villages for fear of being attacked.
The Hmar community is feeling equally insecure, going by the mass exodus from North Cachar Hills to Manipur.