Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, APRIL 17
THE Assam-Nagaland border tussle took yet another twist on Thursday even as residents of Dikoi village accused the SDPO Dimapur of restraining the villagers and, at the same time, allowing “heavily armed” Assam police personnel to “damage” more than ten houses in the village.
General Secretary of Dikoi village council, Veshehko Cho-o said that the SDPO Dimapur had arrived at the village, “supported by IRB personnel”, at around 12.00 noon. “They kept the villagers under restraint, then at around 2.20 pm a large number of Assam police personnel heavily armed also arrived and damaged more than ten houses.
“They also confiscated CGI sheets and other construction materials which were carried away in a Tata Mobile truck. All this was done while Nagaland police personnel and IRB did nothing to stop the Assam police. It is most tragic and unfortunate that the Nagaland police did nothing about the arbitrary action of the Assam police,” he said in a press statement issued today.
Against this allegation, the Dikoi village asked the “Nagaland police department to take necessary action against the SDPO and also ensure compensaation to the villagers for construction materials taken away by Assam police.”
“In a larger sense, Dimapur district administration is also questioned as to why it also did not pre-empt this intrusion of Assam police into Dikoi village. if no necessary action is taken by the authorities concerned forthwith, then Dikoi villagers will take recourse to its own line of action and for which the authotities will be held responsible,” the statement said.
For argument’s sake, Dikoi village claims to have been accorded government recognition on January 17, 1989 with a territorial spread of 1235 acres. Recently, it claimed that the population of the village stands at no less than 400.
And since March 21 last, at least 3 Nagas have been shot in 4 firing incidents that have occurred in and around Dikoi village. The villagers have pointed fingers at Assam police as the ones behind the firing.
