Violence in Assam aimed at starting full fledged communal conflagration: Shinde

Commenting on the violence in Bodo inhabited Kokrajhar in Assam, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Sunday said the violence was aimed at starting a full fledged communal conflagration.

"During the last few days, there have been wanton acts of depredation leading to the deaths of 32 persons, mainly women and children. Out of these 32 persons, 31 belonged to minority community. These innocent lives were lost at the hands of cadres of certain group. The objective of this group seems to be aimed at starting a full fledged communal conflagration," said Shinde in a statement released.

He also said that it is noteworthy that these acts started only after the group started steadily losing its cadres either by surrender or eliminated during operations when they opened fire on Forces.

"The Central Government cannot remain unaffected by these killings and is determined to ensure the safety and security of innocent human lives. The determination is all the more important since these incidents are targeted at the minorities. I strongly condemn the acts of this group which is targeting the women and children of minority community," said Shinde.

He also asserted that the Home Ministry has already deployed 43 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and ten more companies are being sent, while the Defence Ministry has deployed 15 columns of Army comprising of approximately 1,500 soldiers.

"My appeal to all is to maintain calm and peace as the forces on the ground will definitely control the situation. The public leaders of both Bodo and Minority community must see to it that things do not deteriorate," he added.

Atleast 32 people have been killed in the ongoing violence in Bodo inhabited areas of Assam. Militant outfits in the region have been blamed for the killings in Assam.