Assam violence: Four more bodies found, toll rises to 77

Four more bodies were recovered on Wednesday in lower Assam, which witnessed fresh incidents of violence, taking the toll to 77, police said.

"Two bodies, that of a male and a female from the minority community, were recovered from Kokrajhar district, and one each from Baksa and Chirang districts," Assam Inspector General of police (law and order) L R Bishnoi said.

He said of the two bodies found from Kokrajhar, one was fished out from Champa river and another was recovered from Gossaigaon area.

"There were certain fresh incidents of violence but the police has taken timely action to prevent escalation," Bishnoi said.

The rival Bodo and Minority communities had planned attacks but intelligence inputs had helped in prempting the violence. They had planned arson in several interior villages but were thwarted by security forces, the IGP claimed.

Curfew is on in all four strife-torn districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Dhubri, he said. All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh is currently touring affected areas of Kokrajhar on Wednesday.

The state government has directed the district administration to take stern action to ensure that there is no further outbreak of violence.

Fresh clashes between Bodos and minority immigrants had erupted on August 5 in the lower Assam districts after a relative calm of 10 days. A Central Bureau of Investigation team is scheduled to arrive in Guwahati on Thursday, following Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's recommendation for a probe by the central agency, officials said.

A five-member team of Group of Ministers, constituted by the chief minister, visited refugee camps in Dhubri reviewed relief measures and directed the district administration  to ensure health and hygiene.