Assam-Mizoram border tense after death of 48-year-old man

Fresh stress gripped the disputed stretches of the 164.6 km Assam-Mizoram border following the death of a 48-year-old man from Assam in Mizoram on Monday.

Officials of the border districts of two north-eastern States stated efforts have been on to douse the anger triggered by the death of Intiaz Ali Laskar, a resident of Lailapur in Assam’s Cachar district, in a hospital at Vairengte in Mizoram’s Kolasib district.

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A press release from Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s workplace on November 2 stated Mr. Laskar was kidnapped by miscreants. The Mizoram authorities claimed he was a drug dealer who was injured grievously whereas being chased by an area vigilante group.

Mizoram’s Excise officers allegedly discovered 420 mg of heroin with the injured man, registered a case in opposition to him and despatched him to a neighborhood well being centre the place he succumbed to his accidents.

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“He was a drug peddler from Assam and was caught by volunteers of Young Mizo Association when he tried to hand over the drug consignment to two locals in Mautui Zau forest area in Vairengte on Sunday (November 1) afternoon,” stated Mizoram’s Inspector-General of Police (Headquarters) John Neihlaia.

Mr. Ali’s family trashed the allegations by the Mizoram officers and stated he was a firewood collector and would typically enterprise into the jungles alongside the border.

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FIR by Assam police

Bhanwar Lal Meena, Cachar’s Superintendent of Police, wrote to his Kolasib counterpart Vanlalfaka Ralte in search of an investigation by following related National Human Rights Commission pointers relevant in case of custodial deaths.

Assam’s Deputy Director-General of Police (Southern Range) Dilip Kumar Dey stated a primary info report in reference to Mr. Ali’s death was filed on the Dhalai police station in Cachar district.

“We have asked the Mizoram police to share video evidence of the post mortem and the Centre is likely to look into the matter,” he stated.

Officials in southern Assam declare folks in Mizoram, backed by their police, have encroached upon a sizeable space in Cachar and Karimganj districts. Trouble started on October 17 after some 20 outlets and homes have been burnt and greater than 50 folks injured in assaults and counter-attacks by folks on both aspect of the border.

Discussions between officers of each States defused stress and blockades on roads resulting in Mizoram have been lifted on October 22 however Mizoram’s refusal to withdraw its forces from the disputed areas led to a different spherical of unrest per week later.

Assam’s Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua and Director-General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta visited the trouble-prone border to evaluate the state of affairs.

Mizos in Assam apprehensive

The Mizoram authorities has requested officers in Assam to guard stranded Mizos who may very well be victims of violence as a response to the 48-year-old’s death.

“In order to prevent any retaliatory actions by interested parties within Assam especially along the inter-State border, I would like to request you to ensure the safety and security of Mizo communities living within Assam…,” learn a message from David H. Lalthangliana, Mizoram Home Department’s Deputy Secretary to Assam’s Home Commissioner-Secretary.

Saizikpuii, the liaison officer of Mizoram House in Cachar district headquarters Silchar, stated all Mizos dwelling in Silchar had been suggested to take shelter in Mizoram House as a precautionary measure. Just a few Mizos alongside the Assam-Mizoram border had fled to Jiribam in adjoining Manipur for worry of communal conflict, she added.