Assam violence: Death toll rises to 81 Army Chief meets Rajnath, says will intensify operations
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies

New Delhi, December 26 2014 : A day after visiting violence-hit areas in Assam, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday met Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag here to discuss the situation in the northeastern state.

After the meeting, General Suhag told reporters that the Army will "definitely going to intensify operations in Assam" .

"The meeting was to review the security situation in Assam," the Army Chief said.

Suhag said 66 Army columns (70 personnel in each column) have been deployed in Assam for counter-insurgency operations.

The GoC of the 4 Corps, located in the worst-hit Sonit-pur district, heads the Unified Command which conducts the counter insurgency operations in Assam.

Sources said the Home Minister asked the Army Chief to ensure that peace returns to the violence-hit areas and there is no flare up.

Singh told Suhag that Army presence should be increased on the field in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, where there is a presence of NDFB militants.

Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag meets Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Sources said the Home Minister is believed to have discussed the issue of coordinated operations with armies of Bhutan and Myan-mar against the NDFB which has bases in the two neighbouring countries.

Later, the Home Minister's office tweeted: Will intensify operations against NDFB militants in Assam: Army Chief to Rajnath Singh.

The Home Minister had yesterday ruled out talks with Bodo "terrorists", as the death toll in the two days of violence in Assam rose to 73 .

"The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has a clear policy against terrorism - zero tolerance.

There would be no talks at any cost with the militants who carry out such heinous killings," he had said after visiting some of the affected areas in Ko-krajhar and Sonitpur districts.

"The violence is not merely a case of insurgency but one of terrorism.

We are going to deal with this sternly," the Home Minister said.

The comments from Rajnath Singh, who flew into Assam on Wednesday eve-ning, came as the death toll in Tuesday's horror in Kokra-jhar, Sonitpur and Chirang districts rose to 73 on Thursday, officials said.

Official sources said at least 60 adivasis were massacred by Bodo militants, while 10 Bodos were killed in retaliatory attacks.

Three people died on Wednesday when police opened fire at thousands of people who took to the streets in Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district to protest the Bodo militant attack.

Those slaughtered include 21 women and 18 children.

Scores of others have been injured in the mayhem.

Rajnath Singh was accompanied by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, some top officials of the Union Home Ministry and some state government officials during his visit to the affected areas.

Tuesday night's violence has been blamed on a hardline faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) .

Around 2,500 people have fled their homes and are staying in relief camps, official sources said.

The death toll was likely to increase further as there were reports of more bodies being found on Thursday in the three districts.

However, there was no official confirmation.

The Home Minister asked Assam to take time-bound action and promised all help from the central government.

He, however, did not divulge any details about the operation.

Rajnath Singh said the central government has taken up with Bhutan and Bangladesh the issue of militants from India's northeast hiding there.

Meanwhile, a 12-hour bandh called by the All Assam Adivasi Students' Association (AAASA), Assam Tea Tribes Students Association (ATTSA) and Asom Yuva Parishad (AYP) disrupted normal life across the state.

The bandh was total in the affected districts of Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa along with tea garden dominated districts of Jorhat, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in Upper Assam.