IANS
GUWAHATI, MARCH 7
Truckers in Assam on Saturday stopped plying their vehicles from here to Dimapur and other parts of Nagaland in protest against the lynching of a rape accused in Nagaland`s commercial hub Dimapur on Thursday. At least 17 truckers` bodies in Assam said on Saturday that the protest will continue until the victims` family gets justice. "The killing of Syed Farid Khan, a Dimapur based businessman from Assam, is an inhuman act. The Nagaland government must provide adequate compensation to the family of the victim and ensure that no other traders or businessman of Assam is harassed in Nagaland," said a member of the All Assam Truck Owners` Association.
The truckers` bodies also complained about the harassment of truckers by several sections in Nagaland, particularly by the militant outfits on ceasefire in the form of illegal tax collection.
"Apart from paying the mandatory tax to the government of Nagaland, we have to pay to all the militant outfits in different locations while ferrying goods including essential commodities. We have intimated this to the authorities in Nagaland as well as in Assam several times. However, nothing have changed," he said.
Apart from truckers` bodies, different civil society organizations have also staged protest dharnas in different parts of Assam protesting against the killing and demanding compensation to the victim`s family.
