Clashes erupt along Assam-Meghalaya border
The armed confrontation between the two groups alongside the border further exacerbated the tensions arising from an ongoing border dispute between the two neighboring states.
At least eight protesters were injured in clashes with the police at Maibong railway station in Dima Hasao district of Assam on 25 January. The protesters were demonstrating against the purported inclusion of Dima Hasao in the proposed Greater Nagalim.
Protesters called for a 12-hour bandh on Thursday and stopped a Silchar-bound train from Guwahati from travelling further.
Passengers of the train were forced out. They had to seek shelter at a nearby school as the protesters clashed with the police.
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As the police tried to calm the protesters, the mob resorted to stone pelting which left more than 20 policemen, including an Additional SP, injured. Officials said that they had to fire in the air to control the situation.
According to the police, the mob not only blocked the tracks but also uprooted them thus damaging railway property.
The violence broke out following a media report which claimed that a local RSS leader had proposed to make Dima Haso a part of the Greater Nagalim as demanded by NSCN (IM). On Tuesday, a mob had set fire to the RSS office in response.
The protests were led by Jadikhe Naiso Hosom (JNH), a Dimasa organisation. The group said that they had asked the RSS leader to apologise by 24 January and the government to clarify the contentious issue by that date. They claimed that that they took to the streets since they didn’t receive any response.
District Superintendent of Police Ankur Jain told the media that a curfew has been imposed in Maibong though the situation is under control.
Some trains were left stranded or were terminated midway due to tensions in the region. Dima Hasao shares a part of its boundary with Nagaland.
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