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Tag: Himanta Biswa Sarma

  • Assam-Mizoram border clash: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pitches for neutral agency to probe issue

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday questioned the rationale behind the Mizoram government registering an FIR against him and six state officials over the recent border clash when its place of occurrence is within his state’s “constitutional territory”.

    Sarma said he will be “very happy” to join the probe but wondered why is it not being handed over to a “neutral agency”.

    The Mizoram police had lodged an FIR against Sarma and six officials under various charges including those related to attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy at Vairengte police station late on Monday after a gun fight between Mizoram and the Assam police.

    However, the FIR became public on Friday. The clashes, which also involved civilians from the two northeastern states, left six Assam police personnel and a civilian dead. Responding to the development, Sarma tweeted, “Will be very happy to join in any investigation….But why is the case not being handed over to a neutral agency, especially when the place of occurrence is well within the constitutional territory of Assam.”

    Sarma said he has conveyed as much to his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga. The four police officials named in the FIR are IGP Anurag Agarwal, Cachar DIG Debojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar SP Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar and Officer in Charge of Dholai police station Sahabuddin.

    Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and Divisional Forest Officer Sunnydeo Choudhury have also been booked under the same charges. The officials have been asked to appear at the police station on August one. Mizoram police have also registered cases against 200 unidentified Assam police personnel.

    Assam Police, too, has issued summonses to six officials of the Mizoram government, including deputy commissioner of Kolasib district H Lalthlangliana and superintendent of police Vanlalfaka Ralte, and ordered them to appear at Dholai police station on August two in connection with the clashes.

    Other officials posted in Kolasib district who have been summoned are — Additional SP David JB, Vairangte Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) C Lalrempuia, 1st India Reserve Battalion Additional SP Bruce Kibby and Vairangte Sub-divisional Police Officer Thartea Hrangchal.

    An Assam Police team, including officers of the CID, are in New Delhi to take “lawful action” against Rajya Sabha MP K Vanlalvena who in a media interview had reportedly made some statements indicative of his active role in the conspiracy, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh had said earlier.

    Meanwhile, Assam police is also updating a picture gallery of Mizoram police personnel and civilians who allegedly fired at the contingent of the state police on July 26 resulting in casualties. A reward of Rs five lakh has been announced for information that leads to the arrest of “each of the individuals involved in the barbaric killing of the Assam Police personnel on July 26”.

  • Mizoram cops file FIR against Assam CM Himanta, 6 senior govt officials

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Mizoram Police booked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, six senior officials and 200 unidentified policemen, holding them responsible for the July 26 violence on the Assam-Mizoram interstate border.

    The FIR was registered on Monday following the skirmishes.The officials include Inspector General of Police Anurag Agarwal, Deputy Inspector General of Police Devojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar District Magistrate Keerthi Jalli, Cachar Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar, Divisional Forest Officer Sunnydeo Choudhury and Dholai police station officer-in-charge Sahab Uddin.In a WT message to the Assam Chief Secretary, the officials were asked to depose before the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Vairengte in Kolasib district on August 1. The SDPO is the investigating officer of the case.

  • No curbs on travel to Mizoram, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government had not issued any curbs on people’s travel to Mizoram.“The Assam government has not blocked any road (leading to Mizoram). The road is open. We have only asked the people of Assam to not hurry in travelling to Mizoram. Let us study the situation and when there is peace, people can visit the state,” Sarma told journalists on Friday.He said the Assam Police would register cases against anyone found making provocative statements. They will be dealt with as per law, he said.Stating that Assam has a friendly relationship with Mizoram and other states of the Northeast and the state will protect it, he said, “We will solve the boundary disputes through dialogues but we will never allow if somebody forcibly attempts to take away Assam’s land. If need be, we will make self-sacrifice. We will protect our land.”The Assam government had on Thursday issued a travel advisory, asking the people of the state not to travel to Mizoram.“Even after this (July 26) incident, certain Mizo civil society, students and youth organisations are constantly issuing provocative statements against Assam and its people…“It has been reliably learnt from video footage available with Assam Police that many civilians are heavily armed with automatic weapons etc. In view of the above and with the purpose of ensuring safety and security, a travel advisory is hereby issued to all the people of Assam…“The people are advised not to travel to Mizoram as any threat to personal safety of people of Assam cannot be accepted,” the advisory stated.

  • Assam border standoff: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma defends travel advisory on Mizoram

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the people of the state should not visit Mizoram till all arms possessed by civilians are seized by the neighbouring government.

    The Assam government had on Thursday issued a first-of-its-kind travel advisory asking its people not to travel to Mizoram and advised those from the state working or staying there to “exercise utmost caution”. The Assam government is monitoring the situation but roads leading to Mizoram are still open, he said.

    “We have requested the people not to visit Mizoram till the situation normalises. Let us study the situation first. We can visit Mizoram when there is peace,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an official programme at Chirang.

    “When there are AK-47 and sniper rifles with civilians, how can you allow people to visit there? The Mizoram government should seize these arms from their civilians. People are apprehensive about this,” Sarma said in an obvious reference to the the bloody clash at the inter-state border on Monday, which claimed the lives of seven persons and left more than 50 people injured.

    ALSO READ| North East MPs Forum appeals to Assam, Mizoram to ensure peace along interstate border

    The chief minister defended the Assam government’s Thursday order which mandated the police to check all vehicles entering the state from Mizoram to stop transportation of narcotics drugs.

    “The drugs coming from international markets enter through Mizoram and then go to the rest of India via Assam. The Mizo people may not be involved in it but lots of drugs are coming through Mizoram. To stop that, we will be checking the vehicles,” he added.

    Sarma said that a CID team of the state police has reached New Delhi to investigate the alleged role of Rajya Sabha MP K Vanlalvena in the gun battle along the inter-state border in Cachar district.

    About the alleged encroachment of Assam land by people of Mizoram, the chief minister said “The Assamese people will be happy that this time not a single inch of land was grabbed. We cannot allow that. If necessary, we will sacrifice our lives but won’t allow our land to be captured.”

    At least six Assam Police personnel and one civilian were killed while defending the “constitutional boundary” of the state with Mizoram in the July 26 clash. The situation currently in and around the area of the clash continues to be tense but calm as a large number of CRPF troops have started patrolling NH-306 which runs between the two states.

    Officials in Assam’s Barak valley said organized blockades on roads leading to Mizoram were lifted and no group is now out on the streets trying to stop trucks or other vehicles. After the fierce gun battle on Monday various groups in the Barak Valley had announced a blockade of Mizoram, which drew sharp protests from the neighbouring state.

    Assam districts Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi share a 164.6 km long border with Mizoram’s three districts – Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit.

    The long-standing dispute between the two states has its origin in a 1875 notification which had differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.

    Mizoram insists the inter-state boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, a corollary to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873. Its leaders have, however, been arguing against the demarcation notified of 1933, claiming that the Mizo society was not consulted, while Assam wants that notification to be enforced.

  • ‘We’ll die but protect our land’: Assam to raise three commando battalions to man Mizoram border

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Assam will raise three “commando battalions” to man the interstate border with Mizoram even as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said “we will die but protect our land.”

    “We are raising three commando battalions to protect our land in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts. They will have a combined strength of 4,000 personnel. We don’t want others to encroach upon our land,” Sarma told journalists at Silchar in Assam’s Cachar district.

    He also said that the Assam government would move the Supreme Court for status quo on the interstate border and to ensure that the reserve forests were not destroyed by anybody.

    “After Monday’s incident, some civilians (in Mizoram) rejoiced as if it was a fight between two countries. The message we want to give is that we will die but we will protect our land. We are firm that we will not allow even an inch of our land to be encroached upon,” Sarma said.

    The CM said the state sacrificed five precious lives but managed to secure its land. 

    “Assam does not believe in taking revenge and will not launch a counter-attack as it is not in our DNA. I cannot ask my police to fire on the Mizo civilians. Assam is acting responsibly. Despite provocation, we told the police to give security to every Mizo living in Assam,” Sarma said.

    We are firm on our stand to protect the territorial integrity of Assam at any cost.At the same time, we will ensure safety of all civilians, either of Assam or from Mizoram. pic.twitter.com/CIoCXl7XUn
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 27, 2021

    Referring to some recent incidents of bomb blasts on the border and Monday’s violence, he said, “How can you use bombs and bullets to settle a dispute? It is not between two countries.”

    ALSO READ | Day after border violence, Assam, Mizoram refuse to back down, hurl charges at each other

    The CM sniffed at suggestions that some recent actions of his government could be among the reasons behind the violence.

    “There are various activities going on in Assam. We are blocking the (fleeing) Myanmar nationals from moving towards (Assam’s) Dima Hasao. We strongly suspect that there is a drug route that originates in Myanmar and goes to Punjab via Mizoram and Assam. We have cut that line by regularly seizing drugs…

    “Then, we introduced the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021. There are rumours that beef will not be available in the Northeast. These steps might have angered some civilians and non-state actors,” the Assam CM said. 

    People from Myanmar’s Chin province and the Mizos in India belong to the Zo ethnic group and they share the same ancestry.

    Sarma said Mizoram CM Zoramthanga had favoured chief secretary-level talks and the talks took place in Delhi earlier this month. He said at the end of the meeting with Home Ministry officials, the two sides were supposed to sign a memorandum but the Mizoram chief secretary refused to sign it. 

    “Later, the Mizo transgression started in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts. The Assam Police thwarted the attempts while the government was constantly in talks with Mizoram,” Sarma said.

    He said during his and Zoramthanga’s telephonic talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, he spoke about the identification of the boundary with satellite images.

    He said Mizoram failed to grab Assam land from May 10 when he donned the CM’s mantle. The police personnel have been adequately deployed to the border and they are taking positions, he said.

    Sarma said as directed by the Centre, the Assam Police left the site but the Mizoram Police personnel were still there.

    He said the border, demarcated at the time of Mizoram’s creation as a Union Territory in 1972, had to be recognised, and not the British era demarcation.

    He rubbished Mizoram’s charge that Assam is pushing “Bangladeshis” to the reserve forests, stating that the law says there cannot be any settlement in reserve forests.

    Earlier in the day, Sarma paid homage to the slain jawans. The state government will pay ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh each to their families and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured. Also, the personnel deployed to the Mizoram border will get one month’s additional pay.  

  • Day after border violence, Assam, Mizoram refuse to back down, hurl charges at each other

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: As the tension on the Assam-Mizoram interstate border continues, the Chief Ministers of the two states stuck to their guns on Tuesday, refusing to back down from their respective stands.

    While narrating the events leading up to Monday’s violence that left five Assam police personnel dead and over 70 others injured, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga played to their local galleries and hurled accusations at each other.

    Sarma said the Assam government recently received inputs about Mizo activities inside an Assam reserve forest. He said satellite images showed Mizoram was building a road and erecting structures. He said during a subsequent inspection, a Mizoram Police post was also spotted.

    ALSO READ: Assam-Mizoram border standoff: Neutral force CRPF faces flak

    “The Assam Police urged them to vacate it (post). They vacated it but returned soon with civilians. The civilians attacked the Assam Police personnel with stones etc. Later, when a meeting was going on between Assam Police personnel and Mizoram’s Kolasib Superintendent of Police to restore normalcy, the Mizoram Police fired from a hilltop with light machine guns,” Sarma alleged.

    He said 42 policemen and civilians from Assam, including Cachar SP Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, were injured and five cops succumbed to their wounds. Chandrakant was flown to Mumbai by an Indian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday for treatment. A bullet got embedded in his leg.

    Sarma said the Assam government had evidence to suggest the Mizo civilians were carrying weapons.

    “The Mizoram government must probe how and from where the civilians got arms. If there are civilians with arms, then that society will be destabilized,” the Assam CM said.

    ALSO READ: Full demarcation of border needed for durable solution to Assam-Mizoram dispute: BJP leader

    He said since the incident took place inside Assam, the Assam Police would register a case and investigate how the Mizo civilians managed to get hold of weapons.

    Zoramthanga blamed the Assam government for the incident. He said it was decided during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s July 24 meeting with the CMs of northeastern states in Shillong that the border issues of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh would be resolved under the guidance of the Home Ministry.

    “But on Monday, 200 Assam Police personnel crossed the border and overran a CRPF camp and a Mizoram Police duty post. Even as the SP of Kolasib and others were having discussions with the Assam Police officers, the Assam Police personnel started firing tear gas shells at a group of Mizoram locals that congregated,” Zoramthanga alleged.

    He said when further discussions were going on to diffuse tension, the situation turned volatile and the Assam Police started firing.

    “First, they lobbed grenades, followed by firing. There was an exchange of fire for about 45 minutes. It is sad that so many lives were lost and so many others were injured,” the Mizoram CM said.

    “Barely two days after our meeting with the Union Home Minister, why was Assam in a hurry to send 200 policemen to the border and cross it? It is unbecoming of a normal government. There could be accusations about our policemen using machine guns but they use other weapons, including AK 47, too,” Zoramthanga said.

  • Assam-Mizoram clash: Will approach SC to protect state’s forests, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By ANI

    SILCHAR: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the state government will move the Supreme Court seeking protection of innerline Forest Reserve from destruction and encroachment, a day after clashes on the border with Mizoram left five dead and many police personnel and a few locals injured in the clashes.

    The Assam chief minister also announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of the five police personnel who died in the clashes on Monday.

    Addressing reporters here today, Sarma said, “Assam Government will provide financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh each to families of the police personnel who died in clashes at the border with Mizoram yesterday. The injured will be given Rs 1 lakh each. The government has sent the injured SP to Mumbai for treatment.”

    The chief minister stated that the police is investigating the incident and a probe has been launched into where the civilians procured their arms. “The incident took place at the border of Assam. Our police will investigate the matter. It will be investigated where the civilians got the arms from. Five police personnel lost their lives,” he said.

    Sarma said that Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga had apologised and invited him for talks when he called him during the clashes. The Assam chief minister also said that not an inch of Assam’s land could be encroached by the neighbouring state.

    “People have sacrificed their lives but boundary has been protected which we will continue to do at any cost,” Sarma said.

    “I called Mizoram CM six times when firing was taking place (at the Assam-Mizoram border yesterday). He said ‘sorry’ and invited me for talks in Aizawl. No one can take even an inch of our land. We’re committed to securing our territory. Police are on the border,” he said.

    The Assam chief minister told reporters that satellite images had shown encroachment was taking place in the state, roads are being constructed and forests cleared for cultivation which cannot be allowed. Emphasizing that forests are not meant for building settlements, Sarma asserted that the Assam government wants to protest its forests.

    “This is a reserve forest area. With the help of satellite imaging, you can see how the encroachment has taken place. Assam Government has also decided to move Supreme Court with a (law) suit over this. It is a reserve forest. Can reserve forest be utilised for settlement? The dispute is not regarding land, it’s regarding the forest. Assam wants to protect the forest. It’s not organising any settlement in forest area, we don’t want any settlement there,” said the Assam Chief Minister.

    Stating that it is a boundary dispute between states and not a political issue between parties, Sarma said that there were conflicts between Mizoram and Assam even when Congress was in power in both the state.

    “This is not a political issue. This is a boundary dispute between two states. This is a long-standing border dispute. There were disputes even at the time when the Congress government was there on both sides. This is a dispute between two states, not between two political parties,” he added.

    The Assam government, Sarma said, will deploy three commando battalions in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts bordering Mizoram to strengthen security. “3000 personnel will be recruited,” Sarma said.

    Also, Sarma said, “All Assam personnel deployed on the Mizoram border shall get an additional salary of a month.”

  • Five Assam cops dead, SP among 50 hurt as violence at border with Mizoram intensifies

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI:  At least five Assam Police personnel were killed and over 50 others, including civilians, injured when the Assam-Mizoram border row flared up on Monday that saw the police of the two states firing at each other. Automatic weapons, including light machine guns, were used by the Mizoram Police in the attack, the Assam government alleged.

    The injured included Assam’s Cachar Superintendent of Police Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant and the officer-in-charge of a police station in the district. Ironically, while Assam has a BJP government, the ruling party in Mizoram is an NDA ally.

    “Clear evidences are now beginning to emerge that unfortunately show that Mizoram Police has used Light Machine Guns (LMG) against personnel of @assampolice,” tweeted a horrified Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later in the day.

    The incident came amidst a fortnight-long eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the two police forces and two days after the CMs of the two states discussed the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Meghalaya capital Shillong.

    Shah spoke to the two CMs on Monday and asked them to peacefully resolve the issue. Following his intervention, the Assam Police withdrew from the site. The CRPF is now manning the area.Blaming Mizoram for the flare-up and breaching status quo, an Assam government statement said, “Mizoram began constructing a road towards Rengti Basti in Assam, destroying the Inner Line Reserve Forest in Lailapur area. Simultaneously, the Mizoram side also set up a new armed camp on a hillock next to the camp of the neutral force, CRPF, in the same vicinity.” 

    When Assam officials went to the area to request the Mizoram side not to disturb status quo, “they were surrounded and attacked by a mob of miscreants from the Mizoram side, which was visibly supported by the Mizoram Police.”

    Mizoram blames Assam for flare up

    In the afternoon, Manipur’s Kolasib district SP held talks with the Assam delegation. The SP returned again around 4.30 pm and claimed he had no control over the mob, the statement added. E ven while the talks were on, the Mizoram Police opened fire on the Assam officials and civilians from two dominating high features with automatic weapons, including light machine guns, the statement said.

    For his part, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga condemned the Assam government’s “unjustified act” of intrusion and aggression into Mizoram’s territory. He said the injuries on both sides could have been avoided. Giving his take of the incident, Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana said around 200 Assam Police personnel came to Mizoram’s Vairengte auto-rickshaw stand at around 11.30 am by forcibly crossing a post manned by the CRPF and overran a Mizoram Police post.

    He said the Assam Police damaged several vehicles that were travelling along the national highway between Vairengte and Lailapur. “Upon learning of the arson committed by Assam Police, residents of Vairengte town, Kolasib district proceeded to the site to inquire. These unarmed civilians were assaulted by Assam Police by lathi-charging and firing of tear gas, thereby causing injuries to several civilians,” Lalchamliana said. E ight unoccupied farm huts near the trouble-torn area were torched. Lalchamliana said the SP of Kolasib had gone to the site to try and resolve the issue.

    However, the Assam side was adamant and unwilling to discuss, he claimed. The confrontation continued and a volley of tear gas canisters and grenades were launched at Mizoram Police followed by firing from Assam side around 4:50 pm. The Mizoram Police responded by firing back at Assam Police.

    Who’s the squatter?

    Border conflicts have occurred since Mizoram was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory in 1972 to eventually become a state in 1987

    There have been several rounds of talks between the two states since 1995 to resolve the issue

    Officials and locals in Assam claim Mizos have been squatting on 1-3 km land from the interstate border

    But Mizoram groups claim the authorities in Assam have been using ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ to move 10-12 km inside their territory

    The official stand of Mizoram is that the boundary should be demarcated based on a notification of 1875 that distinguished the Lushai Hills (present day Mizoram and erstwhile district of Assam) from the plains of Cachar

    1933 The point of conflict is another British-era notification of 1933 that Assam follows but is not acceptable to Mizoram, which says their ancestors were not consulted on this

    In 1971, the interstate boundary was redefined and Mizos say it was done without their knowledge or consent. Much of Mizo land under British rule was included into Assam territory

  • Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visits hospitalised cops injured in border clash with Mizoram

    By ANI
    DISPUR: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday visited Silchar Medical College and Hospital to meet police personnel who were injured in the Assam-Mizoram border clash.

    Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the doctors to ensure the best treatment to the injured police personnel and shift the seriously injured for better treatment by air ambulance on priority.

    “Visited SMCH to meet injured police officials and directed doctors to ensure the best treatment to them. Asked to send seriously injured personnel for higher level treatment by air ambulance on priority Mins @TheAshokSinghal, @Pijush_hazarika; @DGPAssamPolice; Local MLAs accompanied,” tweeted the CM Biswa Sarma.

    Visited SMCH to meet injured police officials & directed doctors to ensure best treatment to them. Asked to send seriously injured personnel for higher level treatment by air ambulance on priorityMins @TheAshokSinghal, @Pijush_hazarika; @DGPAssamPolice; Local MLAs accompanied. pic.twitter.com/F4fOJIqrr2
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 27, 2021

    As many as six Assam Police personnel have died in an exchange of fire with their Mizoram counterparts, Assam Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said.

    Suklabaidya said that around 80 people were injured in the firing from the Mizoram’s side. “6 Assam Police personnel have died and around 80 people have been injured in the firing. There was no firing from our side. Firing from the Mizoram side was similar to that by the British at Jallianwala Bagh,” he added.

    “A cordial talk with the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was underway after some men came to our side of the border when the Mizoram side started firing suddenly. As much as I know, the firing continued for at least 30 minutes,” he further said.

    We are deeply anguished by the loss of lives of our brave @assampolice personnel.I visited Silchar SP Office and paid floral tributes to the five martyrs and salute their sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/Alj0l9sKmG
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 27, 2021

    Expressing disbelief, the minister said, “We fail to understand the reason behind the move. We live in the same country. They have to cross Assam to enter other Indian states; Assam acts as a corridor to them. Our people never had a bad attitude towards them and still, they did this, we are still shocked.”

    A war of words ensued between Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his counterpart from the neighbouring state Himanta Biswa Sarma after the clash which led the Home Minister to intervene.

    In reply to the tweet, Assam Police said miscreants from Mizoram were indulging in stone-pelting and attacking Assam government officials stationed at Lailapur to protect Assam’s land from encroachment.

    Assam CM Sarma also replied and shared a clipping and said a superintendent of police from Mizoram was asking Assam’s officials to withdraw from their post, failing which civilians from the neighbouring state would not stop the violence. He sought immediate intervention from the Home Minister Amit Shah and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    How can we run a government in such circumstances?” Sarma wrote.

    Soon after, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga wrote to Sarma, “After a cordial meeting of CMs (chaired) by Shah, two companies of Assam Police with civilians lathi-charged and tear-gassed civilians at Vairengte Auto Rickshaw stand inside Mizoram today. They even overrun CRPF personnel/Mizoram Police.”

    Zoramthanga shared another video with which he wrote that an innocent couple were “manhandled and ransacked by thugs and goons” on their way back to Mizoram via Cachar in Assam. “How are you going to justify these violent acts?” he wrote.

    Mizoram CM Zoramthanga said that border disputes in the northeast are a legacy of the colonial era and lasting peace between states is important for further development of the region. 

  • 6 Assam cops dead, 50 hurt as violence at border with Mizoram intensifies

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: at least six personnel of the Assam Police were killed in firing by miscreants from neighbouring Mizoram on Monday as violence escalated along the inter-state border in the Cachar district, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

    A senior Assam Police officer, who is still inside the forest amid continuous firing from across the border, told PTI that at least 50 personnel, including Cachar SP Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, were injured in firing and stone-pelting.

    “I am deeply pained to inform that six brave jawans of @assampolice have sacrificed their lives while defending constitutional boundary of our state at the Assam-Mizoram border.

    My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” Sarma tweeted.

    The senior police officer said miscreants from across the border suddenly started firing when civil officials of both sides were holding a dialogue to sort out the differences.

    “I immediately cannot say how many people have been injured, but my guess is at least 50 personnel.

    Our SP was also injured in the firing and a bullet hit his leg,” the officer said over the phone.

    The IPS officer spoke to PTI while he was hiding inside a forest and firing could be heard in the background.