Assam: Death toll mounts to 60 in ethnic clashes

The continuing ethnic strife in North Cachar Hill district of Assam claimed one more life today Tuesday when suspected Naga miscreants shot dead one Dimasa tribesman and seriously injured his seven-year-old son near Dijaobra railway station on Tuesday.

The slain person was identified as Agyanath Langthasa and his injured son was Babloo who was rushed to Haflong Civil Hospital in a serious condition with all his limbs broken.

With today's killing the toll in the ethnic strife in the hill district went up to 60 since March 19 this year which has left about 5,000 people from both Dimasa and Zeme Naga tribes homeless and about 400-odd houses in different villages razed to the ground.

The state government claims that common people from both the tribes were not involved in the violence which had been perpetrated by militants from Dimasa and Naga outfits.

The government sees a design to trigger a widespread ethnic violence in the hill district behind the killings of innocent tribesmen and burning down of hamlets in different parts of the hill district.

Efforts to set up clusters of violence-affected villagers from both the tribal groups to house them in a well protected area has failed to concretize so far due to lack of fund that hampers setting up necessary infrastructure for such clusters.