GUWAHATI, April 10— Tension continues to grip the minority Hmar community people who have been under attack from Dimasa ultras of the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD) in different parts of the North Cachar Hill district even as the Centre has been requested to rush additional force and an expert counter insurgency team there. Hundreds of Hmar tribal people have fled their villages in the district out of fear of attack from the Dimasas who are apparently avenging killings of Dimasas by the Hmar People’s Convention (HPC) extremists in Cachar district areas.
The district administration in North Cachar was forced to clamp 48-hour curfew in the entire district from 1 pm yesterday in the wake of series of brutal attacks launched by marauding DHD ultras on Hmar hamlets in different areas including Saron village under Mahur police station, Retzawl village about 16 km away from Haflong and Boro Moutha under Harangajao Police Station.
Sources in Haflong informed that a large number of panic-stricken Hmar people have take refuge at Mouhoi area in Haflong which is being guarded by only a few Assam Police personnel, fearing more attacks from DHD militants.
Talking to The Assam Tribune this afternoon, Deputy Commissioner Syed Iftekhar Hussain, however, claimed that there was no report of fresh attacks on Hmars today. The curfew was relaxed for four hours from 8 a.m. to 12 noon today in Maibong area. In order to defuse the palpable tension in the district the Deputy Commissioner today organised a meeting between leaders of Dimasa and Hmar tribes as well as the local church leaders at Haflong circuit house this afternoon.
The Deputy Commissioner informed that the meeting was attended by the self-styled commander-in-chief of the DHD, which declared ceasefire with Government of India on December 31 last, on behalf of Dimasas. The DHD leader Pranab Nunisa agreed with the representatives of the Hmar community and Church leaders that both sides should ensure that no more violent attack on each other took place in the district so that peace could be restored.
Deputy Commissioner Hussain informed that representatives of both the communities pledged in the meeting that they would issue separate statements condemning attacks on each other and condoling the deaths so far. He hoped that this would go a long way in improving the situation. State Police IGP Gunottom Bhuyan and DIG Umesh Kumar also participated in the meeting.
The official informed that so far the clashes between both the communities claimed lives of eight Hmar tribals and one Dimasa tribal while many houses were razed to ground in different parts of the district. He informed that the on-going clashes resulted in displacement of over 150 Dimasas and over 1600 Hmar people in sharp contrast to the reports appearing in the media putting these figures in thousands. He informed that the district administration had adequate force personnel to tackle the crisis even as the Army have been engaged in law and order duty to contain ethnic violence.
Our Staff Correspondent from New Delhi adds: The Union government was asked to rushed an expert counter insurgency group to the troubled North Cachar Hill district along with additional Central Para-military forces (CPMF) as palpable tension prevailing in the area could turn into an ugly civil strife.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour, Mohan Deb said that innocent people belonging to the Dimasa community as well as the tea executives living in isolated pockets and in Cachar and adjoining N C Hills district were living in constant fear as they are considered soft targets. As it is the tea executives working in the tea gardens located in remote areas have been abducted from time to time.
The people of the area were living in constant fear ever since security forces were withdrawn from the area, the MP representing Silchar Lok Sabha seat said. Stating that he apprehended a major civil strife in the area, Sri Deb said that though Assam government was trying to cope with the situation absence of adequate security forces has been major handicap. The difficult terrain has added on to the problem for the State forces, he added.
Consequent upon the attacks, lot of innocent people have taken shelter in the relief camps set up by Assam Government, he added. Calling for help from the Centre, Sri Deb said that it should act before things become unmanageable. He sought immediate deployment of additional forces from the Centre besides a visit by the an expert team from Delhi besides adequate security measures including setting up border observation post along the inter-State border.