At least one person was killed and several others, including policemen, were injured in a clash between evicted people and security personnel in Paikan Reserve Forest in Assam’s Goalpara district , an official said.
According to PTI, Security deployment has been strengthened, and top police officers and district officials have rushed to the spot, which has been cordoned off.
Goalpara District Commissioner (DC) Prodip Timung said forest guards and police personnel were attacked by alleged encroachers with sticks, and stones were hurled at them when they had gone to cordon off a part of the Paikan reserve forest, where an eviction drive was carried out on Saturday.
The eviction drive to clear encroachment on around 135 hectares in the Paikan Reserve Forest of the Krishnai Range of the district had affected 1,080 families, and the evicted people were mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.
“The forest department wanted to dig a channel to ensure that no attempt is made for future encroachment. It started yesterday and went off peacefully. But when the team reached this morning to resume the work, people in the area attacked them with stones and sticks,” Timung said.
In a retaliatory action, the police had to fire to control the situation, in which one person was killed and two others were injured, the DC said.
Several policemen and forest personnel were injured in the incident of stone pelting, the DC said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, reacting to the incident, said those involved in the attack on security personnel will be booked.
“If anyone attacks the police, they will have to face legal action,” he said.
