Guwahati: Panic gripped Uriamghat area in Assam’s Golaghat district which borders with Nagaland on Thursday when gunmen allegedly from Nagaland fired at Assam villagers, killing one and injuring three.
The identity of those who indulged in firing is still to be ascertained but needle of suspicion points to Naga militants
According to the police the firing took place in Ratanpur village when villagers had gone to their paddy fields located close to the border for harvesting the crop but fled from the site when firing commenced.
“Four people received bullet injuries and one of them died later. The incident took place in Ratanpur, which falls under the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB),” said Additional Director General of Police (Border).
Apart from it a police official in Golaghat district said: “The villagers told us they had gone to the paddy fields for harvesting. But suddenly a group of 7-8 men came and started firing at them, forcing them to flee.”
“While four of them were injured, one of them died later. Some people are still missing,” the official said.
The identity of those who indulged in firing is still to be ascertained but needle of suspicion points to Naga militants.
“We have intensified deployment and patrolling along the area and have taken up the matter with the concerned district administration in Nagaland,” the official said further.
It may be mentioned here that there has been two rounds of meeting between the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and his Nagaland counterpart TR Zeliang to resolve the boundary dispute. Till such the issue is amicably resolved, it has been decided to maintain status quo over the border dispute, added the official.
