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Strike in Assam brings normal life to halt
Shops and businesses, financial and educational institutions remained closed, while vehicular traffic was thin.
A dawn-to-dusk general strike in Assam on Tuesday to protest the weekend killing of nine people in police firing brought normal life to a halt, officials said.
A government spokesman said shops and businesses, financial and educational institutions remained closed, while vehicular traffic was thin.
"Almost all private offices were closed, while attendance in government offices was very thin," a government spokesman said.
The 12-hour strike that began at 5 am was called by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) to protest the killing of nine people in police firing in eastern Assam Friday night.
Thousands of people had taken to the streets demanding action against the alleged death of a villager in army custody.
Police said they fired at the crowd as some of the protestors were attempting to set ablaze a police station in the area.
"The incident of police firing on unarmed civilians and growing incidents of custodial deaths and excesses on common people by the Army in the name of countering insurgency are matters that need to be condemned," AASU leader Samujjal Bhattacharyya said.
"The strike is near total with people supporting our call spontaneously."
A 12-hour strike on Monday enforced by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had also paralysed normal life across the state.
The ULFA had also called the strike to protest the police firing and rights violations by the Army.
The incident took place at a time when ULFA representatives and Indian government peace negotiators were holding peace talks -- the last round took place in New Delhi on February 7.
The two sides agreed in writing that confidence building measures need to be strengthened. The ULFA is a rebel group fighting for an independent Assamese homeland in Assam since 1979.
