Last Updated: June 05, 2023, 20:07 IST
Three others went missing and police were looking for them. (PTI)
While the exact cause and the motive behind the firing are yet to be ascertained, locals in Assam are alleging the involvement of miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh
At least two persons died while three others went missing after miscreants allegedly opened firing along the Arunachal Pradesh border in Assam’s Dhemaji district on Monday, police said.
According to PTI, the fateful incident took place during a plantation drive that was arranged by locals at the inter-state border area to mark the occasion of World Environment Day, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ranjan Bhuyan said.
Some seven people had gone to the site beforehand to make arrangements for the drive and that’s when the firing began killing one person on the spot and injuring others, PTI reported.
Three others sustained bullet injuries and were taken to the Dhemaji Civil Hospital by locals, where one person died, he added.
The deceased person has been identified as Boga Chutia of Assam.
Three others went missing and police were looking for them.
“Our team rushed to the spot on receiving the information. We are investigating the incident,” Bhuyan said.
While the exact cause and the motive behind the firing are yet to be ascertained, locals in Assam are alleging the involvement of miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh. Both states share a long history of border disputes.
For the unversed, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804-km-long border, and both sides have been engaging in discussions to resolve the boundary disputes.
In July last year, the chief ministers of both states signed the Namsai Declaration which aimed to resolve the decades-long boundary dispute.
As a result, an MoU was signed by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal CM Pema Khandu on April 20 in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
What is the dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh?
Arunachal Pradesh, which was made a Union Territory in 1972, claims that several forested tracts that had traditionally belonged to the hill tribal chiefs and communities in the UT were unilaterally transferred to Assam.
Later when Arunachal was declared a state in 1987 demarcation, a tripartite committee was appointed and it recommended that certain territories that earlier belonged to the UT be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, a proposal vehemently objected by Assam and the matter has been in the Supreme Court ever since.
(With PTI inputs)
