2 killed, 35 injured in police firing, clashes during eviction drive in Assam
According to officials, the incident happened when hundreds of alleged illegal settlers attacked police and administration personnel present at the site with sticks, stones, daggers and sharp weapons
Two persons were killed and 35 others, including police and administrative personnel, were injured in police firing and clashes when an ongoing eviction drive to remove alleged illegal settlers from government land turned violent at Kachutali in Kamrup Metropolitan district of Assam on Thursday.
According to officials, the incident happened when hundreds of alleged illegal settlers attacked police and administration personnel present at the site, located around 45 km from Guwahati with sticks, stones, daggers and sharp weapons. The deaths took place when police resorted to firing in retaliation.
The two deceased, identified as Zubahir Ali (22) and Haider Ali (19), who had sustained bullet injuries, were rushed to the Sonapur government hospital nearby, where they succumbed to their injuries.
The injured among police and administrative personnel include the circle officer of Sonapur, Nitul Khataniar, deputy commissioner of police (east) Mrinal Deka, and eight women constables.
“Today (September 12), the government officials including on-duty police were attacked by sharp weapons, and stones were pelted at them obstructing them in government duty and causing grievous injuries with deadly intent. In this, 22 government officials have received injuries, including grievous injuries,” Assam director general of police (DGP) GP Singh posted on X.
He added that following the “targeted attack by miscreants”, police also resorted to “authorised use of force following due process”, in which 13 persons were injured, of whom two have been declared dead at the hospital.
“Guwahati police have been directed to identify all the miscreants involved in the attack on government officials and take lawful action. Due statutory processes are being followed regarding use of force by police. Proper treatment is being provided to the Government officials and others injured today,” Singh said.
According to police, revenue authorities of Kamrup Metropolitan district have been carrying out eviction proceedings from the government land in the notified tribal belt of Sonapur revenue circle since September 9 “following laid down processes”.
During this process, 248 bighas (155 acres) of government land have been cleared of encroachment removing 237 illegally constructed structures in the tribal belt built by people not authorised to build such structures. The process, which local administration claims was carried out after giving notices to the settlers, had passed smoothly in the past three days.
“The eviction drive was going on peacefully and those getting evicted were also cooperating with the authorities with the request to give them some time to collect their belongings and valuables. But instead of that, when on Thursday the authorities tried to use excavators to bury household goods of those getting evacuated, people got agitated and tried to chase away policemen. That’s when the firing started,” said Rahim Ali, 26, a truck driver who is a resident of Kachutali and a relative of the two deceased.
While authorities maintain that the encroachers had settled in the area in recent years, several of them claimed that they have been residing there for decades and some have even purchased the land from the previous occupants. Rahim, whose family of 14 comprises his parents, four brothers and their families, says that his family came to the area in 2002 from Darrang district after their land got eroded in floods.
“Our family owns 5 bighas of land of which 3 bighas are under cultivation. We had a six-room concrete house in which all of us stayed. We were not served any notice and there was only an announcement made through speakers on September 8 urging people to leave their homes. The authorities have razed the structure and now all of us, including my aged parents and small kids, are residing at a neighbour’s house. We were not able to save all our belongings. We don’t know what will happen in the coming days as the neighbour’s place where we are staying now might also get demolished soon,” said Rahim.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday accused the Congress of being responsible for instigating the encroachers, which in turn led to an attack on police and administrative personnel present at Kachutali to conduct the eviction drive.
“When the Congress started opposing the eviction drive in the morning (Thursday), the situation became worse and a large number of people with lathis, bamboo sticks attacked the police and government officials’ team,” said Sarma naming Congress leader of Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, as the instigator. The CM also said that since the encroachers were being evicted from government land, there’s no need to give prior notices to them.
“The CM is a liar and is misleading the people. I never gave any statement to instigate those people who were being evicted. I had merely questioned whether they had been served notices before the eviction drive,” said Saikia.
The Congress leader also cited an RTI query filed by him this year in which the circle officer of Sonapur revenue circle, under which the Kachutali area falls, replied in August that there was no encroachment on any government land in the revenue circle.
“In June this year, a division bench of the Gauhati high court had ordered that prior to eviction proceedings, notices must be issued even to those who are occupying government land. There was a similar order by the Supreme Court earlier in a separate case. But our CM claims that no notice needs to be served to evict those who are occupying government land. This is a clear violation of court orders,” said Saikia.
The opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) alleged that the eviction drive at Kachutali and most of the other such campaigns by the state government in the past three years have targeted Bengali Muslims while encroachers from other communities have been spared.
“Why are you targeting only Muslims? It is the state’s duty to provide land to the landless who have been forced to move from one area to another due to floods and erosion. It is very clear that the BJP government in Assam is doing all this to please the majority community. We condemn such acts and will take legal recourse, if needed to protect the rights of those evicted,” said Md Aminul Islam, AIUDF MLA and spokesperson.
Similar sentiments were echoed by All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU). “Thursday’s incident is part of a pre-planned design of the government under Himanta Biswa Sarma to target and kill Muslims. This is a clear violation of human rights, and the CM should resign. The BJP is continuously engaging in Hindu vs Muslim politics in Assam with an eye on the 2026 assembly polls,” said Ainuddin Ahmed, adviser, AAMSU.
Thursday’s incident wasn’t the first time an eviction drive turned violent in Assam. Two civilians were killed and several others, including 9 policemen, were injured in violence during an eviction drive in Darrang district on September 23, 2021.
Police had claimed that a mob of nearly 2,000 persons attacked the police team during the eviction drive at Dholpur in Sipajhar block, nearly 65 km away from Guwahati, following which police resorted to baton charge and firing that resulted in the deaths and injuries.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam under chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been carrying out eviction drives since coming to power in May 2021. In July this year, Sarma claimed that an area of 167 square kilometres, bigger than the size of Chandigarh, had been freed of illegal encroachers due to these drives.