Assam sectarian strife leaves 32 dead, thousand homeless

The interior areas of Assam's three districts yesterday witnessed sectarian strife with security personnel shooting dead four miscreants, which took the death toll in the region to 32 even as chief minister Tarun Gogoi urged home minister P Chidambaram and defence minister AK Antony to rush additional paramilitary forces and troops to put an end the savagery.

It has been estimated that around 40,000 people have fled their homes looking for safer areas.

The death toll in the violence in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts has reached 28 since violence gripped the region, 19 July following groups of Bodos tribals and Bengali-speaking Muslims attacking each other.

Four miscreants were gunned down by security forces yesterday, pushing the death toll in the two districts to 32, authorities said.

Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued and an indefinite curfew has been clamped in the worst-hit Kokrajhar district and in Chirang, a night curfew has been imposed from 6 pm to 6 am.

Miscreants continued to set on fire houses left vacant by thousands of people fleeing to safer areas and the fire brigade and security forces struggled to put down dozens of fires.