Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday hinted at the involvement of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in instigating the violence that erupted during the eviction drive in the Sipajhar area.
“The situation is normal now. As many as 60 families have to be evicted but there were 10,000 people, who brought them…Popular Front of India’s name is emerging in this but I’ll not give any comment till the judicial probe is completed,” ANI quoted the Assam chief minister as saying.
Sarma cited state intelligence reports that claimed certain people had pooled Rs 28 lakhs during the last three months assuring people that eviction won’t happen. These individuals, Sarma insisted, mobilised instigators and wreaked havoc when they could not stop the authorities from carrying out the eviction drive.
We have the names of 6 persons. Prior to the day of incident, PFI visited the site in the name of carrying food items to evicted families. Various evidence are now emerging, implicating certain people, including a lecturer: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma (2/2) pic.twitter.com/ej6civnJip
— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2021
Sarma also said that PFI had visited the area a day before the violence broke out under the pretext of providing food items to the evicted families.
“We have names of 6 persons. Prior to the day of the incident, PFI visited the site in the name of carrying food items to evicted families. Various evidence is now emerging, implicating certain people, including a lecturer,” Sarma said while addressing the reporters.
Dispelling the rumours that the eviction drive was a fair accompli foisted on the people, the Assam chief minister said the encroachers were taken into confidence and their consent was sought before conducting the eviction drive. Sarma said he told them about evictions and asked them to ensure no resistance, which they had promised but created mayhem the next day. In addition to this, he had also informed Congress about the decision, which the party had agreed to and had appreciated then.
Violence breaks out in Darrang district in Assam as encroachers lock horns with security forces
On Thursday, an eviction drive conducted by the administration in Darrang district in Assam had turned violent after encroachers of the land attacked security forces. While 9 policemen were injured in the attack by the mob of illegal encroachers, 2 attackers were killed in retaliatory police firing.
The incident took place at the Dholpur in the Garukhuti area near the Sipajhar town in Darrang district in Assam, where the Himanta Biswa Sarma government is conducting an eviction drive of illegal settlers on land belonging to the government or other organisations like temples. When the eviction party reached the place inhabited by Bengali speaking Muslims on Thursday, thousands of people clashed with the police, attacking them with stones, machetes, pointed bamboo sticks etc.
