Officers summon each other in Assam-Mizoram border dispute

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and six top state officials have been booked in Mizoram on charges of attempt to murder and assault, in the wake of unprecedented gunfight between the police forces of the two northeastern states. The developments came on a day Mizoram condemned Assam’s decision to ask its citizens to not travel to the neighbouring state and a key government committee appeared to harden its stance on the border dispute.

The Assam officers against who Mizoram police has registered an FIR are Inspector General of Police (IGP) Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Cachar Devojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar Superintendent of Police Cahndrakant Nimbalkar, and officer in-charge of Dholai police station Sahab Uddin. The FIR was filed for allegedly entering Mizoram’s Vairengte district and violating Covid protocols and under the Mizoram Containment and Prevention of Covid-19 Act 2020 along with the Indian Penal Code. Sarma and the officials were booked for attempt to murder, concealing design to commit offence, grievous hurt, assault and using criminal force against public servants, said the people. The four police officers and the two administrative officials have been summoned for questioning on Sunday, August 1. The case was filed at Vairengte police station in Kolasib district of Mizoram by the local inspector, H Lalchawimawia. The Kolasib district that borders Assam’s Cachar district, witnessed violent clashes on Monday where five police officers from Assam were killed.

The boundary between the two states is disputed at several points and several rounds of dialogue since 1994 have failed to resolve the disagreement between Assam and Mizoram.