The Army on Friday opened fire at a mob that had gone on a looting spree near communal violence-hit Gossaigaon town of Kokrajhar district in western Assam. The action, sanctioned by the local administration, helped offset another flare-up between the warring communities.
The authorities swung into action after Muslim residents of village Habrubil, one km south of Gossaigaon, approached civil sub-divisional officer Vinod Seshan around 11am to report that some miscreants were looting and vandalising shops.
The nearest army column was subsequently informed. Executive magistrate DJ Das, accompanying the army, ordered the commanding officer to open fire to control the mob. “We fired one round since the situation was getting out of control,” an Army spokesman said.
One person, injured in the firing, was taken to the government health centre at Gossaigaon.
The Army has deployed 13 columns in western Assam from July 25, to keep a check on the communal violence that erupted on July 20 killing 56 people and rendering 4.6 lakh people homeless.