Fresh trouble along Assam-Mizoram border after Chief Secretaries’ talk

Aizawl/Silchar (Assam), July 10 (IANS): Hours after a meeting of Chief Secretaries of Assam and Mizoram over the border trouble, a powerful grenade was triggered on Saturday, when senior officials were visiting the border areas.

According to the Assam Police, a powerful grenade was detonated on the Mizoram territory, when senior Assam officials including Additional Director General of Police (Border), Harmeet Singh and Cachar district Deputy Commissioner, Keerthi Jalli were visiting the area.

Cachar district superintendent of police, Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, who was also accompanying the official team, said that no report was received about any injury or damage to the properties due to the grenade blasts.

“Some people belonging to Mizoram are always trying to encroach on Assam’s territory, creating obstructions when Assam officials and workers are undertaking developmental works and indulging in objectionable activities. We have from time to time informed Mizoram but these illegal activities are still going on”, Chandrakant told the media.

People living along the Asam-Mizoram border areas alleged that they are residing for several decades but now the people of Assam accompanied by police are trying to evict them. Central paramilitary forces are maintaining security on both sides of the inter-state borders since the border troubles began in October last year.

An official in Aizawl said that Mizoram Chief Secretary, Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and his Assam counterpart Jishnu Baruah on Friday held a meeting in New Delhi in presence of Home ministry officials on the border issues. The Mizoram Chief Secretary has sought time for further consultations on the issue.

“We expect to sign an agreement in our next meeting after resolving the inter-state border issues”, Baruah said. Since October last year, several inter-state border skirmishes have taken place along the Assam-Mizoram border and over 50 people were injured and more than 25 houses and shops had been set on fire on the Assam side.

An Assam government school was also largely damaged due to a massive blast triggered by unknown miscreants from the Mizoram side last year. Following the intervention of Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, top Home Ministry officials and Chief Ministers of both states, central paramilitary troops were deployed along the border to prevent fresh troubles after a series of clashes and blockades on National Highway 306.

Continuing since October, the tense situation along the 164.6 km Assam-Mizoram border took an ugly turn when an Assam resident was kidnapped and later his body was found on the Mizoram side.

Mizoram’s three districts — Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit share borders with Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts.