Boy killed in Assam violence had gone to collect his Aadhaar card

One of the two civilians killed earlier this week during Assam police action was a 12-year-old boy. His family members said that the boy, Shiakh Farid was returning home after collecting his Aadhaar card from the post office.

Farid's house is about two kilometres from the place where the clash took place. The incident was captured on camera. A policeman in riot gear was seen firing shots, reported NDTV.

The boy is the youngest of four siblings and the post office had called him several times to collect the Aadhaar card since July. He was caught in the brawl between villages and the police on his way home.

On Thursday, Sipajhar in Assam's Darrang district witnessed violence as thousands protested against the government's ongoing eviction drive against "illegal encroachers", leaving at least two people dead and around 20 injured, in clashes, and a shocking video where an apparently dead man with a bullet wound on his chest lay motionless but was still hit by a man slinging a camera.

At least 800 families, occupying about 4,500 bighas of land, in Assam's Darrang district were evicted as part of the state government's drive against "illegal encroachments" on Monday.

The eviction drive was conducted at No 1 and No 3 Dholpur village- a riverine area under Sipajhar revenue circle in an area largely inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims.

As many as 14 JCB were placed on Monday into service since morning around 8 am with the help of 1500 security personnel to free an area of around 4,500 bighas of government land encroached by around 800 families, Darrang SP Sushanta Biswa Sarma, who is the brother of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

"The eviction drive was peaceful on Monday. No resistance was offered to the administration and families were seen shifting their belongings of their own," the SP said.

But the story was different on Thursday.

The residents of the area largely inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims like Monday's drive, who claim they have been living there since the 1970s, were served notices on Saturday and the ongoing drive was launched on Monday, freeing 4,500 bighas from about 800 families. Four places of worship were also demolished, the residents said. But for Thursday's eviction, the notice was served on Wednesday which prompted the anguish and protest.

"There was no resistance on Monday but on Thursday, the affected people demanded rehabilitation and adequate time to move out because of the ongoing pandemic. They were served notice on Wednesday..,how can move in such a short notice ," Saddam Hussain a local said.

But police claimed the protesters, armed with sharp weapons, pelted the police personnel and others present with stones.

Police initially fired in air to disperse the protesters but failed, forcing the men in uniform to fire at people, killing two and injuring at least ten others. Around 10 more, including policemen, were also injured in clashes.

"We got notice on September 18 that our shops will be evicted. There was a little time to shift things. We have been living here since 1979. There are about 22 shops in our village and all dismantled which resulted in a loss of Rs 30 lakh. Where will all people go in the middle of this pandemic ," Mir Sirajul Haque (47), a resident and shop owner at No 3 Dholpur village, whose shop was dismantled on September 20.

According to the authorities, the violence began around 12.30 pm. "We had gone to carry out the eviction in the morning. While it went according to plan in the first three zones, we faced some resistance in the last zone," said SP Sarma. "In the first instance, we managed to control it. But after that, they started attacking us with stones, baahor jung (pointed edges of bamboo). One policeman was critically injured in the head.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has instituted an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the deaths and injuries, led by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court. Late Thursday evening, the man who jumped on the protester as he lay injured, identified as a photographer employed with the district administration, was arrested

The eviction, along with the allotment of the freed land to the landless among the indigenous communities, was one of the key poll planks of the BJPled alliance. Chief minister Sarma had visited the affected area in June and promised to evict the "encroachers" and set up the agriculture project.

The eviction operation is part of the BJP government's move to free 77,000 bighas from encroachers at Sipajhar in Darrang district on the northern banks of the Brahmaputra and set up an agriculture project involving youths from the indigenous communities.

One of the BJP's poll promises in the May Assembly elections was to free government lands from "encroachers", and allot them to "indigenous landless people". Similar drives evicted 70 families in Hojai's Lanka and 25 families in Sonitpur's Jamugurihat in June. In Sipajhar, the government plans to implement a multi-crore 'Garukhuti Project', under which freed-up land is to be used for afforestation and agriculture activities, involving indigenous youth.

Sipajhar had earlier seen similar drives in December 2016 and November 2017, with organisations such as the "anti-immigrant" Prabhajan Virodhi Manch highlighting the issue of "illegal encroachers".

(With inputs from our special Correspondent R Zaman and NDTV)