At least 12 civilians were killed on Friday, August 5 when militants in military fatigues opened random fire at a busy market in Assam’s Kokrajhar town.
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The state government said police and paramilitary reinforcements had been rushed to the scene in Balajan, around 220 kilometres (140 miles) west of Assam´s main city of Guwahati.
Friday’s attack was the worst in the recent past, but the group was blamed for the shooting deaths of more than 60 Muslim settlers and Adivasi tribespeople in Assam in separate attacks in 2014. “We have also recovered one AK 56 rifle, two magazines, one Chinese grenade and 49 rounds of AK ammunition from the possession of the slain militant”, he said. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is in Delhi, denounced the attack and said the militants would be dealt with “very sternly”. Two more people died on their way to the hospital, another police official said.
“They have started a massive combing operation for the attackers and are being supported by the security forces on other side of the global border”, he added. Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to state Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal over the incident who apprised him of the prevailing situation.
Assam Minister for Environment and Forest Pramila Rani Brahma said that the modus oprandi of the Kokrajhar attack did not reflect the style of the outlawed militant outfit, National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songbijit (NDFB-S).
“This attack is meant to destabilize peace in Assam”, said Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state’s finance and health minister. Last reported, the identity of the killed militant was yet to be identified. Reports suggest that security forces have killed one militant.
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Others showed corrugated iron roofs strewn around the bloodied marketplace as charred scooters and cycles lay in mangled heaps while security forces storm through the site. The Centre is also closely monitoring the situation arising out of the Kokrajhar attack. Memon said even if the issue of the attackers were genuine, the matter can not be resolved by killing and hurting innocent civilians, they should have tried to resolve it by discussing it with the government.
