Assam violence Over 70 killed in Bodo attacks, at least 250 missing
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy: The Hindustan Times

Guwahati, December 24 2014 : More than 70 people were killed and at least 15 injured as armed Bodo rebel groups gunned down Adivasis, including women and children, in orchestrated attacks in different parts of Assam, police officials said on Wednesday.

Police said the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) � the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland � carried out the attacks in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts lasting about three hours on Tuesday evening.

The militants killed 37 people in Sonitpur, and 27 in Kokrajhar, including 18 children and 21 women.

At least 250 people are also reported missing in one of the bloodiest incidents of ethnic violence in the North Eastern State, bringing back memories of 2012 when similar conflicts between Bodo tribal groups and Bengali-Muslims in Kokrajhar and neighbouring districts left about 100 people dead and over five lakh homeless.

Members of Assam Tea Tribe Students' Association protesting the killings

"The death toll is likely to go up with more bodies being recovered," Assam police spokesperson Rajib Saikia said.

Angry Adivasis, armed with bows and arrows, attacked police stations in Sonitpur district.

At least five people were injured after police fired blanks to disperse the mob.

Assam police chief Khagen Sarma said Bodo militants could have attacked in retaliation to security forces' crackdown on several NDFB(S) members in recent times, adding that militants were operating from the jungles straddling Assam's border with Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.

However, analysts said the recent spate of killings could also be attributed to the Bodos' longstanding demand of a separate homeland since the 1980s.After years of bloody conflicts and numerous negotiations with the Central and State Governments, Bodo groups agreed to the creation of the Bodoland Autonomous Territorial Districts (BTAD) in 2003 .

However, a section of the Bodos wants more areas under their control.

The NDFB(S) faction, an anti-talk Bodo group, have been carrying out attacks against other ethnic groups in what they claim to be regions that belong to them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks, tweeting that he had spoken to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who with Minister of State Kiren Rijiju, flew to visit the violence-hit villages on Wednesday evening.

Gogoi called the attacks cowardly, adding, "Operations against them will continue." Army and State security forces have been rushed to the worst-affected areas and curfew has been imposed in some places.

District officials said the random strikes made it difficult to assess the extent of the damage.

"There are bodies littered everywhere," an army officer said from Sonitpur district.

Adivasis and Bangla-speaking Muslims living in Bodo areas or near tea estates in the region have been prime targets of ethnic cleansing.

Often referred to as the tea tribes, they have been seeking Scheduled Tribe status in Assam.

Adivasi organisations, including the All Tea Tribe Students' Association, called for a State-wide shutdown on Friday to protest the killings.

The All Bodo Students' Union and other Bodo organisations too condemned the killings and carried out protest rallies in Kokrajhar.