Assam: Suspension of two cops triggers row in Dhubri

Guwahati: Two police officers who were suspended after allegations of committing excesses on demonstrators in Assam’s Dhubri district has triggered a huge row.

It has prompted the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) to call a 12-hour bandh on Thursday.

The bandh disturbed normal life in parts of Dhubri as the AKRSU agitated against alleged police actions on a group of people who had organized a rally in Golakganj on Wednesday evening, asking for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and a separate state for the Koch-Rajbongshi community.

After the incident, the government suspended the officer-in-charge of Golakganj police station and “reserve-closed” the officer-in-charge of Gauripur police station.

Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, who went to Dhubri at the order of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, regretted the episode.

“I am here at the direction of the chief minister to find out what exactly happened. I met the injured in the hospital. They are all stable. The incident occurred due to misunderstanding,” Baruah told the media on Thursday.

He added, “The police officer-in-charge of Golakganj was reserve-closed and then suspended, while an order has been issued to reserve-close the police officer-in-charge of Gauripur. We also received complaints against three other officers – the district senior superintendent of police and two deputy superintendents of police. The DIG is here and we have directed him to conduct a probe and submit a report within five days.”

Six communities in Assam – Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran, and Tea Tribes – have long been demanding ST status.

AKRSU is also asking for the creation of a separate “Kamatapur” state.