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At least two persons were killed and several others injured as the police opened fire at people protesting over the state government’s eviction drive against landless Muslim families in Sipajhar in Assam’s Darrang district on Tuesday.
On camera, policemen in riot gear and armed with guns and sticks chased and attacked protesters and even fired shots. Some visuals that have gone viral show policemen indiscriminately firing at the protestors. A photographer is seen jumping over the motionless body of a poor man. The photographer was allegedly hired by the Darrang District Administration. According to the police, he was arrested later.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma indicated that the policemen resorted to action in self-defense. He has ordered a probe – to be headed by a retired High Court judge – into today’s violence.
800 Muslim houses were demolished and almost 5,000 persons were forced to live under the open sky on Monday in Dholpur 1 and Dholpur 3 villages of Sipajhar. Two mosques and a madrassa were also razed.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has praised the eviction in a tweet. He had said 4500 bighas of land were cleared by ”evicting” 800 households. However, rights groups had criticised the government for evicting people without having any rehabilitation plans.
On Thursday, thousands of locals protested against the eviction drive. Later the police resorted to using force against the unarmed protestors.
Former Congress politician Rahul Gandhi has called the action ”State-sponsored fire”. Several other opposition politicians have also condemned the brutality.