Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday informed that a shoot-at-sight order had been issued along Assam-Meghalaya boundary area in Goalpara district to contain the ethnic violence that had so far claimed 9 lives and injured 20 besides displacing over 34,000 people.
Ten companies of additional central forces arrived in Assam to contain violence along the inter-state boundary, Gogoi informed, adding that so far 110 miscreants involved in the strife had been arrested by Assam Police.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is also keeping tab of the situation.
He called upon both the communities to see reasons and restore their age-old peaceful co-existence. He informed both the state governments were in constant touch and monitoring the situation unfolding on both sides of the inter-state
"Out of the nine killed in the violence so far five were in Assam side, including one killed in police firing. We have set up 37 relief camps to house 34,412 people displaced by violence from both the communities. Out of those 18,085 are Rabhas from Meghalaya. Out of the rest 16,000 people about 7000 are Rabhas and 9000 are Garos," Gogoi said.
The Assam government would provide Rs 10,000 to each of the families who have lost their houses in the violence.
Regarding involvement of armed surrendered militants in instigating the violence, Gogoi said at this juncture the top priority is to restore normalcy and provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected people.
"We will inquire into causes of the ethnic violence and pinpoint instigators, if any, in the later stages, " he added
