Bandh paralyses normal life in Assam

Normal life was paralysed in Assam by a 12-hour bandh called by the Bajrang Dal to protest the violence in the lower Assam districts where the situation was calm with no fresh incident reported on Monday.

Bandh supporters burnt tyres and pelted stones at vehicles in different parts of the state following which the police took nearly 500 of them into preventive custody in Guwahati, Golokgunj and Agomoni in Dhubri, official sources said.

Schools, colleges and educational institutions, commercial and business establishments, financial institutions remained closed with attendance in government offices thin, the sources said.

Vehicles remained off the roads with a few state transport buses running with police escorts.

Bandh supporters were also taken into preventive custody near the North East Frontier Railway at Maligaon here when they stopped railway employees from reporting for duty, the sources said.

Activists of the All Bodoland Minority Students Union tried to block train services at Bijni in Kokrajhar district on Monday morning.

The bandh was supported by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and RSS.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has deputed a five-member team of ministers to violence-hit Bodoland Territorial Council areas to supervise efforts to bring normalcy to the area. Gogoi has taken the decision in view of occurrence of some fresh killings in the area during the last few days. The team of ministers include Prithvi Majhi, Pradyut Bardoloi, Himanta Bishwa Sarma, Rockybul Hussain and Chandan Brahma.

The All Assam Minority Students Union and the All Bodoland Minority Students' Union has called for another 12-hour Assam bandh on Tuesday to register its protest against minorities in BTC area. They also have demanded dissolution of the BTC.

There was no fresh incident of violence since Sunday evening in lower Assam districts where seven people have died and two others injured since Friday taking the toll in the more than month-long violence to 87.