12-hour bandh on eviction deaths hits normal life in Assam’s Darrang

TIL Desk/National/Guwhati/ 12-hour bandh called by a body of various organisations representing the minority community to protest the death of two persons during an eviction drive affected normal life in Assam’s Darrang district on Friday.   Two persons were killed and 20 others injured in clashes between police and alleged encroachers during an eviction drive in villages under Sipajhar revenue circle on Thursday.

 No untoward incident has been reported so far in the bandh called by the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema among others, that began at 5 am on Friday, a police officer said.

 All business establishments remained closed and very few vehicles plied the roads. Security has been tightened across the district with heavy deployment in Goroikhuti, Dholpur I and III villages in Sipajhar where the eviction drive was underway, he said.

 A Congress delegation, comprising its state chief Bhupen Bora, Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Rakibul Hussain and other senior leaders, staged a protest against the incident outside the Darrang deputy commissioner’s office in district headquarters Mangaldoi.