Mizoram Police files FIR against Assam CM Himanta, 6 top officials & 200 unidentified policemen

July 30: The border dispute between Assam and Mizoram has taken an ugly turn on Friday with the Mizoram Police filing an FIR against Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Inspector General (IG) of Assam Police Anurag Agarwal, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Devojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Keerthi Jalli, Cachar Superintendent of Police (SP) Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sunnydeo Choudhury, Dholai Police Station officer-in-charge Sahab Uddin and 200 unidentified Assam Police personnel.

As per reports, the FIR which was registered on the basis of complaint made by an Inspector in the Vairengte Police Station of Mizoram on 30 July alleged that on the instructions of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, senior Assam Police officials along with around 200 police personnel entered into the territory of Mizoram by force and attempted to occupy a police camp of Mizoram. They further alleged that the Assam Police attempted to encroach on the forest land. The FIR also mentioned that the huge contingent of Assam Police violated Covid protocol by entering into Vairengte district of Mizoram. Moreover, charges of attempt to murder and assault were levied against them in the complaint that was registered at Vairengte Police Station.

The FIR also alleged that civilians from Lailapur in Assam pelted stones at the villagers of Vairengte, which was followed by firing stun grenades and tear smoke shells by Assam Police. In the process, a civilian and a constable of Mizoram Police suffered bullet injuries. The FIR then went on to state that when the Assam Police started firing at the Mizoram Police personnel and public which gathered there, the Mizoram Police then resorted to firing in self-defence as well as to save the public.

“They had arrived at the spot with tents and other materials for construction of camp which clearly showed their intention to forcibly occupy the Mizoram BOP (border outpost) by force, as their convoy of vehicles consisted of ambulances and around 20 (twenty) vehicles,” the FIR added.

The Mizoram Police in a WT message to the Chief Secretary of Assam asked the officials as named in the FIR to depose before the investigating officer of the case, who is the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) at Vairengte in Kolasib district of Mizoram on 1 August 2021.

It needs mention here that Assam Police since the day of the untoward incident has been maintaining that it was the Mizoram Police who started the firing. Earlier, GP Singh, Special DGP of Assam Police in a series of tweets announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to arrest of each of the individuals involved in the barbaric killing of the Assam Police personnel on July 26, 2021. The incident took place at Inner Line Reserve Forest area of Cachar district, Assam along National Highway 306, around 1.7 Kms southwards from Lailapur Police Station in which 6 policemen of Assam died till now, while around 40 more policemen sustained bullet injuries including the Superintendent of Police of Cachar.