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Guwahati, October 9 (IANS) One person was killed and another injured on Thursday in a violent clash between two groups over paddy harvesting in Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district, bordering Meghalaya. Police gave this information.
Tension has been prevailing along the interstate border since last week, with both sides claiming ownership of the agricultural land where the incident took place.
According to police, the clash broke out when a group of people from Meghalaya allegedly started harvesting paddy on the disputed land, triggering a protest by residents of Tapat village under Hamren police station in Assam.
The dispute soon escalated, leading to a violent confrontation between villagers from Lapangup in Meghalaya and Tapat in Assam.
“One person from the Karbi community died in the melee,” a senior Meghalaya Police official told IANS.
The deceased was identified as Orivel Timung, 48. Another person was injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, officials said.
Assam Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd and control the situation. The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem.
Officials said a meeting of the Inter-State Border Peace Committee was held on October 6, where it was decided that agricultural and developmental activities in the sensitive area would remain suspended until complete peace is restored.
However, Thursday’s incident occurred despite that agreement. Following the clash, the Meghalaya government imposed night curfew in Lapangap village in West Jaintia Hills district to prevent further escalation.
Deputy Chief Minister Preston Tynsong said additional police forces have been deployed and both the district administrations are in constant touch to maintain peace and order.
Assam and Meghalaya share an 884.9 km long inter-state border, of which 12 areas remain under dispute. Lapangap falls into one of the six regions still awaiting resolution. The two state governments had earlier resolved six other disputed areas through an MoU signed in New Delhi in March 2022.
Efforts are ongoing to reach a permanent solution in the remaining areas to prevent recurrence of such violent incidents.
–IANS
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