Mobs attack Hindi speaking milkmen settlement killing one: Assam

More than 20 people who fled to nearby forest areas to escape the assault are still missing

Mob Attack
Representational Image

Creating panic among the Hindi-speaking people of Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district, more than 100 miscreants armed with spears, sticks and machetes, all suspected members of the TakamMising Poring Kebang (TMPK), attacked a settlement of milkmen and cattle-rearers at CharkholiaRamsingSaporion Saturday. They also torched ten houses in the area. The settlement is a sandbar situated in the middle of the Brahmaputra.

The area falls under Hiloidharigaon panchayat of Lahoal block. It takes five hours to reach the sandbar by boat. Most of the sandbar inhabitants are milkmen and cattle-rearers. They are mostly people who migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and have been living on the sapori for decades.

Murali Yadav (52), a milkman, succumbed to his injuries at the Assam Medical College on Sunday. Vijay Yadav (38), grievously injured, remains in a critical condition. The other injured have been identified as Dhananjoy Yadav, Bijoy Yadav, Aditya Yadav, Mukti Yadav, Sushila Yadav and Radheshyam Yadav.

As per an FIR lodged with the police, the dairy farmers were served letters by the TakamMisingPorinKebang, LaimekuriAnchalik Committee of Dhemaji district on October 11. The TMPK, a student organisation of the Mising community of Assam had demanded donations ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000 from each of the families for TMPK’s 48^th foundation day which was scheduled to be celebrated on October 16. The complainants mentioned that since they did not pay the amount demanded by the organisation, a large number of people led by TMPK leaders set ablaze their houses and attacked them yesterday.

The Telegraph reported that on October 15, a sandbar resident, Pradip Yadav, had submitted a memorandum to Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha urging him to take action against the TMPK.

The Police Fail to Act
“The district administration failed to take action. If they had done so, my father would have been alive today. I lost my father because of the failure of the police and the district administration,” said Binod, son of the deceased.

Ramjan Yadav, another local resident who filed the FIR at Dibrugarh police station against the TMPK told TOI, “We approached both, the DC and the SP but the matter was not taken seriously.”

Defending the delay to act, Dibrugarh SP Gautam Borah said, “The Chapori (sandbar) where the incident took place is very remotely located and it takes around four hours to reach there. There is no mobile network there. We have sent a police battalion under Additional SP (headquarters), Dhrubajyoti Bora. He, along with ADC DipuDeka, is investigating the incident. The culprits will be arrested soon.”

TMPK Denies Involvement
Meanwhile the TMPK has denied the involvement of its members in the incident. TMPK Dhemaji unit president DurnaKantaJimey said, “None of our members are involved in the incident. It may be the handiwork of miscreants. Someone may be trying to tarnish the name of our organisation. Our members are disciplined and won’t indulge in any such act. Anyway, the truth will come out after the investigation.”