Guwahati: The police in Assam have reportedly forbidden Assam-registered vehicles from travelling to Meghalaya.
The Assam police have taken this action in an effort to defuse rising tensions between the two states in the wake of the shooting incident in one of the interstate border locations.
It needs to be mentioned that at least three civilians and a forest guard were killed and a dozen injured in a violent clash at Mukrang under Jirikending police station in West Karbi Anglong along the Assam-Meghalaya border .
According to reports, a forest guard from Assam was killed in the miscreants’ attack while three civilians from Meghalaya were killed in the Assam police firing.
The slain forest guard has been identified as Bidya Singh Lekhte.
According to police sources, the clash between the Assam police and a group of Meghalayans erupted when Karbi Aglong district forest officers intercepted a truck carrying illicit wood in the early hours of Tuesday.
SP for West Karbi Anglong Imdad Ali reported that at around 3am, a team from the Assam Forest Department intercepted the truck near the Meghalaya border.
As the truck tried to flee, the forest guards fired at it and punctured a tyre. The driver, a handyman and another person were apprehended, while others managed to escape, he said.
He stated that the forest guards called the Zirikending police station and requested more officers.
As police reached the spot, a strong mob from Meghalaya armed with sharp weapons gathered at the spot at around 5 am, the officer said.
He claimed that the police and forest guards were fired upon by the mob as it gheraoed them and demanded the quick release of individuals who had been detained.
“A forest home guard and three persons of the Khasi community were killed. The situation is under control,” the SP told a news agency.
Tension has been sparked by the incident in Meghalaya.