Police fire in the air in curfew-bound Golaghat

Golaghat/Guwahati, Aug 21: Police fired in the air and burst tear gas shells to disperse protestors trying to block NH 39 at Numalimargh in trouble-torn Golaghat district this morning in defiance of the indefinite curfew even as the army staged a flag march to maintain law and order.

A large group of people tried to block the road with branches of trees in defiance of the indefinite curfew clamped yesterday and threw stones at police vehicles damaging one of them and injuring a policeman, police said. The protestors shouted slogans against an alleged firing by police late last night at Numaligarh and injury to an innocent person, an incident which had no official confirmation.

Police burst tear gas shells and fired in the air to disperse the protestors and none was injured, sources said. Army staged flag marches from Golaghat town to Rangajan, Bokakhat and Numaligarh on trucks mounted with guns and red flags. The district administration urged people over the public address system to remain indoors in the curfew-bound areas.

Curfew was clamped and Army called out yesterday after three persons were killed and six others injured in police firing in Golaghat town to quell a mob that tried to set ablaze the deputy commissioner's office and destroy other public properties in protest against Tuesday's police action at Rangajan where 22 people and seven police personnel were injured.

The unrest is a fallout of the killing of nine people on August 12 at Uriamghat in the district in firing by some persons allegedly from neighbouring Nagaland. Over 200 houses were set ablaze rendering 10,000 people homeless.

PTI