New Delhi: Meghalaya DGP LR Bishnoi on Thursday visited Assam's West Karbi Anglong district and held discussions with senior officers of the neighbouring state to avert Mukroh-like violence. According to an official, the visit came after a portion of a forest fence was found dismantled in a disputed area along the boundary between the two northeastern states, as reported by the news agency PTI.
The meeting came a day after the fence of the Assam forest department at Umsaw Lumdorbar in the disputed Block II area along the interstate border was found broken, he said.
Apart from the Meghalaya director general of police, West Karbi Anglong district administrator Krishna Barua and senior police officers from Assam, including IGP PK Bhuyan, and SPs of Ri-Bhoi and Karbi Anglong districts Giriprasad M and Indranil Barua respectively were also present during the meeting.
The meeting on Thursday was held at the beat office of Umjakini Forest Range under Baithalangso Police Station in West Karbi Anglong, a senior Meghalaya Police officer said. The meeting was conducted weeks after the violence at Mukroh had broken out at the Assam-Meghalaya border last month. Six people, including a forest guard, were gunned down amid the clashes that had occurred after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest guards from Assam.
Mukroh village, 30 km east of Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district headquarters of Jowai, is located around 10 km from the interstate border.
“The Assam Police has sought cooperation from us to keep the law and order situation along the disputed villages under control. Any attempt to create disturbances could mar the peaceful co-existence of people residing near the interstate border," he said, as quoted by PTI. He also claimed that the police in Assam registered a case after a portion of the forest fence was found dismantled.
Meghalaya and Assam have a longstanding dispute in the 12 areas along the 884.9-km-long interstate border, and the location where the Mukroh violence took place was one of them.
The two northeastern states had signed a memorandum of understanding in March this year in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi towards ending the dispute. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 and had since then challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, of 1971, which had demarcated the border between the two states.
(With PTI Inputs)