A three-day state mourning from Tuesday is announced in Assam today to condole the death of five policemen and one civilian in a border clash with Mizoram on the previous day, a notification said. During this period, the national flag will fly at half-mast and there will be no public entertainment, the order issued by the General Administration Department said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to the chief ministers of Assam and Mizoram, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga respectively, and urged them to ensure peace along the disputed border and find an amicable settlement.
Sarma paid floral tributes to the five slain policemen at Silchar on Tuesday. "We are deeply anguished by the loss of lives of our brave @assam police personnel. I visited Silchar SP office and paid floral tributes to the five martyrs and salute their sacrifice," he tweeted.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister visited the Silchar Medical College and Hospital and met the police personnel injured in the attack.
"Visited SMCH to meet injured officials and directed doctors to ensure best treatment to them. Asked to send seriously injured personnel for higher level treatment by air ambulance on priority," Sarma said in another Twitter post.
The chief minister is also likely to visit the inter-state border where the situation was stated to be "tense but under control", officials said.
At least six personnel of the Assam Police were killed in firing by miscreants from neighbouring Mizoram on Monday as violence escalated along the inter-state border in Cachar district. A senior Assam Police officer, who was inside the forest amid continuous firing from across the border, had said that at least 50 personnel, including Cachar Superintendent of Police Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, were injured in firing and stone-pelting.
Earlier today, opposition parties Congress and TMC attacked the Centre over the violence at the Assam-Mizoram border. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has "failed" the country by "sowing hatred and distrust" into the lives of people and India is now reaping its "dreadful consequences". TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on the other hand said that such unremitting incidents under the BJP's watch have invited the death of democracy in India.
(With PTI Inputs)
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