Judicial inquiry to probe Assam violence: Gogoi

A judicial inquiry will be held to probe the violence in lower Assam even as the Central Bureau of Investigation has taken up seven cases related to the clashes that have claimed 77 lives so far.

"We have decided on a judicial inquiry. This will be done at a much larger scale and cover the entire gamut of issues, including lapses by administration and recommendations for preventing such incidents in the future," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters.

His announcement came a few hours after the state police said the CBI will investigate seven cases related to the violence, which started on July 19-20 and has displaced over four lakh people.

Gogoi said no fresh incidents have been reported from any place since the past 24 hours.

"We have formed peace committees in the violence-hit areas," he said, adding that an all party meeting would be organised soon to coordinate relief and rehabilitation work.

The chief minister said 1.6 lakh people displaced in the conflict have returned to their homes from refugee camps.

"We have already closed down 101 camps. Our effort is to send the rest of the camp inmates back to their respective homes," he said.

Gogoi denied allegations by some parties that formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council had led to mistrust and enmity among Bodos and non-Bodos in the Bodoland
Territorial Area Districts.

"There were more violent clashes and more deaths before BTAD was formed," he said.

Gogoi accused opposition Asom Gana Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Party of playing politics and said his government had done its best to prevent illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

Refuting the opposition's charge that illegal immigrants were behind the clashes, he said, "If there are any foreigners they (AGP and BJP) should prove it. The statement made by them is false."

There are no illegal infiltrators in the camps for displaced people of the ethnic violence, he said.

On the charge made by BJP leader L K Advani over inaction in updating the National Register of Citizens, the chief minister said, "It is my government who initiated measures to update the NRC. When Advaniji was union home minister he never spoke on the issue."

"They (AGP and BJP) have no interest in deporting foreigners. What did they do when they were in power," he asked and added no other government (in Assam) had taken as much effort as his to stop infiltration.

"Police station-level committees had been constituted for detection and deportation of illegal immigrants. But nobody comes forward to identify foreigners," he said.

Meanwhile, Assam Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) L R Bishnoi told PTI that the CBI will hear preliminary investigation of seven cases related to the violence. Of them, four cases are from Kokrajhar, two from Chirang and one from Dhubri.

The decision to take up the seven cases was decided after a visit to the violence-hit areas by a two-member CBI team comprising the central agency's Special Director K Saleem Ali and Deputy Inspector General Satish Golcha on Friday.