Kajalgaon, Assam: NDFB-Songbijit militants lobbed a grenade at SSB personnel and exchanged fire with them in Assam's Chirang district along the Indo-Bhutan border on Friday police said. None was injured in the encounter, the police said.
The insurgents hurled the grenade at an SSB patrol at Phoisana Bazar area under Bijni sub-division and traded fire with them before fleeing into the nearby thick jungles, they said.
CRPF personnel from nearby Panbari camp rushed to the site and jointly launched an operation with Sashastra Seema Bal to trace the fleeing extremists.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand's former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi arrived here today to meet the people affected in the NDFB-S carnage in the district and neighbouring Kokrajhar district.
Talking to reporters, Marandi alleged the "failure of Assam government led to the violence."
Demanding security to the people and that the army stop NDFB-S activities, he wanted the violence-affected people sheltered in relief camps be provided with food, clothes, medicines and other essential items.
State Welfare minister Akon Boroa visited the district on Friday and assured the inmates in the relief camps of food and other essential goods.
At least 81 people were killed in attacks by NDFB-S and retaliatory violence in Assam's Kokrajhar, Sonitpur and Chirang districts since December 23.
Meanwhile, another joint group of AASU, AAASA, ATTSU, ABSU, Bodo Sahitya Sabha, AATS and AATYL demanded the intervention of the Assam Governor and the Centre to ensure prevention of further escalation in the violence.
"There is no existence of the state government. Where is the government? It must act to eliminate terrorism. The Central government should intervene to give security to the people," AASU Advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya told reporters here. He informed that a joint delegation would meet the
Governor this evening and request to ensure security to the people.
"Terrorism should be eliminated. Terrorists do not have any religion and caste, Assam is not a place of killings," Bhattacharya said.
The AASU leader also said the joint delegation of 26 organisations will carry the message of "sadbhavna" during a two-day tour on December 29-30 in the affected places.
