Guwahati: At least 23 person were killed and 14 seriously injured by heavily armed NDFB(S) militants in two communally-sensitive districts of Kokrajhar and Baksa of Assam since Thursday night.
Curfew went into force from 6pm on Friday to 4am on Saturday in Baksa district’s Salbari subdivision and pockets of Mushalpur and Tamulpur subdivisions.
A group of 40 NDFB-Songbijit militants, armed with AK-47 rifles, swooped down on Balapara-I village in Kokrajhar district in the early hours today and fired indiscriminately entering three houses one after another killing seven persons on the spot, police said.
The body of a three-year-old child also killed in the attack was recovered from the area later this morning, police said, adding, 13 persons there were also seriously injured.
Later tonight, 12 bullet-riddled bodies, including of five women and a child, were recovered from Nankekhadrabari and Nayanguri villages in Baksa district, police officials said.
The militants carried out the crime after entering the house near Ananda Bazar area in Baksa district also within BTAD, the police said.
The army’s help has been sought to deal with the situation and troops were staging flag marches to instill confidence among the locals in the violence-affected places and to bring the situation under control, the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) said in a statement on Friday.
In Baksa district, a man identified as Bipin Boro was shot at and seriously injured in his house by two suspected militants at Nizdefeli on Thursday, police said, adding, he was admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday held a law and order meeting with top civil and police officials and instructed the Assam Police to firmly deal with the situation.
Ruling Congress, opposition BJP, AGP, All Minority Students Union (AMSU), All Bodo Minority Students Union (ABMSU), All Assam Students Union (AASU) and several other organisations have condemned the killings and urged the people to maintain peace.
