PM speaks to Gogoi over Assam violence, death toll rises to 5

Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi late on Thursday evening to discuss law and order situation in violence hit Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts (BTAD) where two person was killed taking the toll to five since November 10.

Gogoi gave the Prime Minister, who is a Rajya Saba MP from the state, a detailed account of the situation and steps taken to control the violence.

Gogoi claims he has also sought help from the Army Chief for a counter-insurgency plan. The Army has been conducting flag marches under a strict curfew, and a high level meet of state security officials will take place on Friday.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi claims he has also sought help from the Army Chief for a counter-insurgency plan.

Two people were killed in Kokrajhar on Thursday, taking the toll to five since Saturday. Reports say two factions of the Bodo insurgent group NDFB had a violent showdown over the weekend which triggered the attacks.

Manmohan Singh said the government would take all measures to curb such activities and assured the state government help in restoring peace and normalcy.

The Chief Minister at a specially convened law and order meeting in Guwahati on Thursday night directed the DGP and senior police officials to deal with the latest spurt in violence in the BTAD region with an iron hand and if required to take the help of the Army and para-military forces. Earlier, the four BTAD districts and Dhubri were affected by violence between Bodos and minorities which left 90 people dead and more than 4.80 lakh homeless in July-August.

With Additional Inputs From PTI

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)