GUWAHATI: Two Bengali-speaking Muslims were killed in a police firing in Assam on Thursday during an eviction drive that turned violent. The incident occurred at Kochutoli village under the Sonapur revenue circle in the outskirts of Guwahati. Jubahir Ali and Haidar Ali succumbed to injuries at a hospital. Over a dozen others, including a magistrate and police personnel, were injured. Two police vehicles were also damaged in the incident. Additional security personnel were deployed and the situation remained tense, when reports last came in.“They (villagers) resisted when we were clearing encroachment of the government land. Soon, a lot of them armed with sticks and stones arrived and attacked us. So, the police had to open fire to control the situation,” a government officer told the media at the spot.The police said the eviction drive passed off peacefully from Monday to Wednesday, but turned violent as the villagers confronted the officials and police personnel on Thursday. The land was previously cleared but the villagers reoccupied it.Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said rail traffic on the Digaru-Tetelia section of Lumding division was disrupted for two hours when around 300 to 400 evicted people came to the railway track. “The track has been cleared by RPF and state police and normal train service has resumed. Three trains underwent detention. There were no attempts by the protestors to carry out any sabotage of railway property,” the NFR said in a statement.“The eviction drive by the state government has no connection with the railways. There is no cause for any panic for railway passengers,” the statement further stated.
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