Gogoi for CBI probe into Guwahati clash

The Assam chief minister recommends a CBI inquiry into the violence which broke out during an Adivasi rally in Guwahati at Beltola area on November 24, reports Digambar Patowary.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday recommended a CBI inquiry into the violence which broke out during an Adivasi rally in Guwahati at Beltola area on November 24.

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Protesters under the banner of the All Assam Adivasi Students Association (AAASA) vandalised shops and damaged vehicles during their protest march from Beltola, sparking retaliation by locals.

An Adivasi protester died and over 250 were injured in the clashes. A woman from among the demonstrators was stripped before she was rescued by an Assamese youth and handed over to the police. The stripping invited wide condemnation from all sections of society.

Several organisations of the Adivasi community have demanded Scheduled Tribe status for the Adivasis of Assam.

In Assam, tea garden workers are mostly Adivasis. The central government has rejected the demand on the ground that the Adivasis in Assam are migrants and not indigenous to the state.

Gogoi admitted that there were lapses in the functioning of the police on the November 24 clashes. He also said there may be a conspiracy behind the violence. "We shall also look into the conspiracy angle to ascertain if any force was behind the violence to divide the society in Assam," he said.

The Assam government has also ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence. "We have recommended that the CBI probe the circumstances that led to the clashes between some Adivasi protesters and a section of local residents. The judicial enquiry we have ordered will go on simultaneously if necessary," Gogoi said.

Six communities are demanding ST status. The demand for scheduling of six ethnic communities in the state has been gaining momentum in recent months.