Curbs Along Assam-Meghalaya Border After Clashes Create Problems For Truck Owners, Drivers

After violence at the Assam-Meghalaya border, the Assam Police set up barricades at various border crossings and asked people not to travel to the hill state in vehicles bearing Assam number plates.

New Delhi: Restrictions along the Assam-Meghalaya border, in the aftermath of a firing incident that killed 6 people in the Mukroh area, are causing problems for truck owners and drivers transporting daily-use items.

 Only vehicles with Meghalaya's registration are being allowed entry into Meghalaya as the Assam Police set up barricades at various border crossings and asked people not to travel to the hill state in vehicles bearing Assam number plates.

"This restriction has caused problems for truck owners and drivers. We urge the Ministers to have a permanent solution," the Vice President of All India Road Transport Workers Federation's Assam unit said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Six Dead In Violence Along Assam-Meghalaya Border

Violence had broken out at the border between the two states in the early hours of Tuesday after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest guards from Assam. According to news agency PTI, six people, including five tribal villagers from Meghalaya and a forest guard from Assam, were killed.

After the incident, a group of tribal villagers from Meghalaya allegedly vandalised and burned down a forest office in Assam's West Karbi Anglong district, prompting fears that the spiral of violence would spread in the two states.

At least two vehicles - one in Mukroh village where the violence took place on Tuesday and another in Meghalaya's capital Shillong - were set ablaze by a mob, PTI reported officials as saying.

In a tweet, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, whose party is an ally of the BJP, complained that the Assam police and forest guards "entered Meghalaya and resorted to unprovoked firing" on civilians from his state. He tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma in the Twitter thread.

Delegation Of Meghalaya Ministers Led By CM Conrad K Sangma To Meet Amit Shah Today

A team of Meghalaya ministers will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to seek a central agency probe into the matter. A Meghalaya cabinet meeting decided to send a delegation of ministers led by CM Conrad K Sangma to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 24 to demand a CBI or NIA probe into the violence

The Assam government said that it will hand over the probe to a central or neutral agency.

The Himanta Sarma government informed that it has transferred the district SP and suspended the officer-in-charge of Jirikinding Police Station and the Forest Protection Officer of Kheroni range.

Both Meghalaya and Assam have announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.

The body of the deceased Assam Forest Protection Force personnel, identified as Bidyasing Lekhte, was handed over to Assam, PTI reported an Assam government official as informing.

(With Agency Inputs)