SILCHAR, April 10 – The situation of Barak Valley, North Cachar Hills and a part of Manipur bordering Cachar district is still tense following the Dimasa-Hmar ethnic clash which killed 28 people during the last few days. A fear psychosis has gripped the people of these places. All the non-Dimasa people are leaving North Cachar Hills following the threat from the Dimasa outfit Dima Halam Daogah (DHD). It can be mentioned here that the Dimasa-Cacharis are the Indo-Mongoloids and belong to the Bodo group of people and linguistically belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family.
On the other hand, leaders of both the communities have appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony and to create a friendly relationship. The appeal was signed jointly by T Sanokhum, president, Hmar National Union, Assam, Lugur Sunthang, chairman, Barak Valley Hill Tribes Development Council, Uttam Chand Barman, vice-president, Dimasa Sahitya Sabha, Assam and Nagaland and Amal Kanti Barman, ex-chairman, ST Development Board, Barak Valley in presence of Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly Prithvi Majhi, Commissioner of Hills and Barak Valley Division C K Sarma, MP Santosh Mohan Deb, Rajya Sabha member Karnendu Bhattacharjee, minister MI Laskar, DGP HK Deka, DIG NN Dutta, MLA Bimalangshu Roy and the representatives of various political parties.
Meanwhile the Dimasa Sahitya Sabha has demanded the arrest of Hmar leader T Sanokhum, who is also a surrendered notorious terrorist, for allegedly influencing communal violence by the Hmar People’s Convention (HPC-D). Considering the present situation, the Director General of Police Hare Krishna Deka has decided to open police outposts in the trouble hit areas in Cachar district and the first outpost will be set up in Chekarcham and Lambabasti soon. More police personnel will also be deployed in the bordering areas of Cachar district, informed police sources. It is learnt that the Government of Assam is also considering to deploy army personnel in North Cachar Hills and Manipur bordering areas of Cachar district.
DHD has intensified its activities in the North Cachar Hills and has served indirect quit notices to almost all the non-Dimasa people. Undeclared curfew like situation in the district has created fear psychosis among the non-Dimasas and they are secretly leaving the district. Thousands of people belonging to Hmar and Kuki community have left Haflong and have taken shelter into Lumding reportedly fearing retaliation from the Dimasa community. On Sunday last two Naga girls were killed by the DHD ultras and many were kidnapped from the Lumding-bound Tripura passenger train. They also looted and injured many passengers in the Cachar Express train also and later the NF Railway cancelled all the trains running via Haflong for security reasons indefinitely. The four organisations of Kuki and Hmar have alleged that the large number of people of their communities are still traceless from these trains and feared that they have been killed by the DHD militants. The four Hmar organisations in a memorandum to the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi have clearly held the DHD ultras responsible for the killing of innocent people and urged to take stringent action against the culprits.
The Cachar district committee of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has demanded the immediate arrest of culprits otherwise they will resort to massive agitation throughout the district. AGP has alleged that the police has not arrested ten culprits even after submitting FIR against them. The party has also alleged the shortage of relief materials in the refugee camps of Dhalai and Nikama. The Silchar Foodgrains Merchants Association have yesterday distributed some relief materials among the refugees of Chekarcham, Jorkhal and Metnerthal relief camps. Free medicines were also distributed today in these camps by a team of doctors from Silchar Medical College Hospital. The Chief Executive Member of North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council Purnendu Langthasa has also visited the trouble-hit areas yesterday.