Guwahati: The death toll in the attacks by Bodo militants of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) faction in Assam’s Sonitpur and Kokrajhar district rose to 62 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the angry Adivasi villagers today retaliated by setting ablaze houses of Bodos and took out protest marches.
IGP (Law and Order) SN Singh told PTI that the death toll had risen to 62 with 37 deaths in Sonitpur and 25 in Kokrajhar after heavily armed militants belonging to the Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) swooped down on the four remote Adivasi villages of the two districts and killed the inhabitants last evening.
All those killed in Sonitpur attack were stated to be Adivasis. The incident site is located very near to the inter-state border between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the attack and termed the killing of innocent people as an act of cowardice.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Assam today to take stock of the siuation.
President Pranab Mukherjee today strongly condemned the killings in Assam. He tweeted:
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) SN Singh said the NDFB faction opposed to peace talks was behind the incident.
Additional paramilitary personnel have also being rushed by the Union Home Ministry to Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts of Assam.
The militants attacked the villages as a response to the intensified operation by the security forces, he said.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi termed the attack a cowardly act of the militants and said his government will not bow down to any militant threat.
The NDFB, Monday, triggered a grenade blast in Patgaon in Kokrajhar district, injuring three people.
