The Assam government has called out the Army to control the situation in Bhimajuli and adjoining areas in Sonitpur district following a major strike by the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) that left at least 12 people dead on Sunday evening.

Tension gripped the area on Monday, with the police opening fire in the air to disperse an irate mob that tried to attack the Balichang police outpost protesting against the failure to apprehend the culprits behind the shooting. Three persons were injured in the firing. Angry crowds also pelted stones at the convoy of Assam DGP Sankar Barua, who visited the area.

“The Army has been called to assist the district administration in controlling the situation,” Subhash Chandra Das, Assam Principal Secretary (Home), said.

It was around 7.30 pm on Sunday that a group of militants armed with sophisticated weapons arrived in the Bhimajuli village, close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, and opened indiscriminate fire. While 10 people died on the spot, two succumbed to their injuries later. The dead included three children and three women.

Six of the seriously injured persons have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital while six others are undergoing treatment at District Civil Hospital in Tezpur. The victims included a few Nepali settlers, some Adivasis and two Assamese.

Four senior state ministers, including Himanta Biswa Sarma (Health) and Bhumidhar Barman (Revenue), visited the affected village along with the Assam DGP. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi strongly condemned the killings.

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