Last year the Mizos pointed guns, this year they shot Assam’s men dead and the border issue remains on “Twitter”

July 26, 4:15 pm, Kolashib SP sits with IG Assam Police Anurag Agarwal and they engage in a dialogue. Cachar DC, IAS Keerthi Jalli stands up and leaves the chair for the Kolashib SP to sit. Gesture. An SP should have ideally discussed matters with his counterparts – SP but the hierarchy gets breached and the breach gets entertained.

Yellow check gates around 25 meters away barricades armed Mizos. After a gap of 25 metres, a bus and a riot control ven, 207 Vajra is earmarked by Assam Police as the sacrosanct line that must not be crossed. Even the press stands behind. “We are trying to broker peace, don’t step up the hills,” says a Police official when Barak Bulletin correspondent and other members of the press attempted to walk up the hill and get a comment from the deputy commissioner. By then, nine Assam Police jawans and five civilians were rushed to Dholai BPHC with bullet injuries. Most of them were hit by bullets that were fired from “air guns”.

4:30 pm. SP Kolashib looks at the Mizo-mob standing with weapons which include light machine guns, assault rifles, automatic weapons, riot guns through which they sprayed tear gas, slingshots through which they aimed with marbles. The first question here is that why is an SP allowing citizens to hold weapons. How is that not a crime? They throw stones, one, two, fifty and hundreds… civilians in Assam’s side seek refuge behind bus, Vajra van. “Let’s announce through mosque to accumulate crowd and attack,” says a local resident of Lailapur. SP Cachar, Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar replies, “Don’t do anything of this sort. Don’t be scared, don’t run and retreat. Stand wherever you are.” The crowd in Cachar follows the instructions, maintains the status quo.

4:35 pm. Right in front of SP Kolashib and the press core, the Mizos attack the bus with gas. “Tear gas” warns the officials. The blitzkrieg begins, SP Cachar right next to the bus hears sounds of gunfire. The Assam Police officials run to save their life. The civilians cry for retaliation, “Fire back, Fire back, let them retreat.” “We don’t have orders to fire run, run,” says the man in uniform. Within moments he is shot. He is bleeding, there are more men in uniform bleeding, there are civilians bleeding, there are officers unable to open their eyes because of the gas. Mortar gets into the action, one Assam Police official bursts fire up in the air. The Mizos retreat but they keep firing.

OC Dholai down, IR Battalion Jawans down but there isn’t a single ambulance available to rush them to the hospital. One Toyota Innova accelerates down as fast as it can, another follows, an official softly informs other, “SP Sir down”. These aren’t pellets anymore, these aren’t airguns anymore, it is an ambush, it is a blitzkrieg, it isn’t encroachment or trespassing anymore, but they are now gunning for lives.

One after another trip for the Innovas, Boleros, Jeeps. More and more men down. Around 100 were rushed to Dholai BPHC and more than 70 got referred to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. “They had civilians, so we restrained, retreated and didn’t fire,” says Cachar DC, Keerthi Jalli. She was there when the fire was opened, with just a driver and no PSOs or escort she sat on a vehicle that is not her’s and toured the road. OC Manoj Rajbongshi sat on the ground to keep it low, she stopped by him, got down and asked, “are you hit by a bullet?” He replied, “No madam,” bullets were still being fired, rounds after rounds and from many directions. She got up on her car and approached the camp, where Kolashib SP was the guest “of honour”.

The unfortunate part is that this wasn’t the first time, she was welcomed with guns. Last year, when Jalli and then SP Bhanwar Lal Meena went to inspect a school “BOMBED” by the Mizo miscreants, civilians stood with guns all around her and some even posed pointing a rifle at her. Last year they pointed the guns, this year, they shot our men down and the Assam Government and Mizoram Government played “friendship – friendship” on Twitter. CM Mizoram wishes CM Assam as he takes oath as the CM. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wishes Zoramthanga on his birthday and shares pleasantries. Two friends belonging to the same political alliance with the same party at the centre leaves a bullet-border-bombardment for the DCs and SPs to handle. The MLA of Dholai, Parimal Suklabaidya is from BJP and is a Forest Minister in Assam. The entire dispute is in a reserve forest area inside his constituency and it is the DC, SP, Jawans with no order to fire – on the line. Why?

SI IR Battalion 21, Swapan Kumar Roy got hit by a bullet on his head. “It has hit him on the right and pierced out from the left, leaving him dead,” said his relative, a journalist in Silchar we went and identified the dead body. Liton Suklabaidya, PSO of SP, Cachar got hit by multiple bullets. Five dead bodies are worth only Rs 10 lakhs each (the compensation announced)? Last year, a resident of Assam was found dead in the custody of Mizoram. CM Sarbananda Sonowal had announced Rs 5 lakh compensation and it was handed over to the victim’s kin by DGP and Chief Secretary. Cachar BJP thumped chest to say, “Have you ever seen a DGP or Chief Secretary, visit the borders in this manner?” Ten months later, new CM, same DGP and Chief Secretary, there is a new value put to life. The problem remains.

SP Cachar in ICU of SMCH had a CT Scan and the doctors said, “Head of Femur looks destroyed. It is a bad fracture and the bullet/pallet is still in.” IPS Nimbalkar does not have any clue when he will be able to take a step. The family is planning to airlift the officer in his 30s. OC Dholai, Sahab Uddin who was drenched in blood is much better now. The Opthalmology ward in SMCH is filled with patients from the border skirmish.

Mizoram does not agree with the current lines being drawn, for them, the borders are different. (Read Here an interview with the chief secretary of Mizoram) But they don’t want to go to the parliament and seek a border review, there they are BJP’s strength. They want to get the border remapped by bullets, by bloodshed. On the other hand, the border issues help Assam BJP to further consolidate the votes exactly how it used to be for Congress. The conflict at the inter-state borders helps rake in some easy votes, get publicity but at the cost of what? Jawans dying and femur broken? Why was the Police and delegation in the line of fire on July 26 is a question that the Home Minister of India, two chief ministers of the state need to answer and answer loud and clear, as clear as they wish each other – “Happy Birthday”.

“The Government of Assam is committed to maintaining cordial relations and peace while restoring neighbourly relations. It requests the State of Mizoram to restrain its people and Police personnel from indulging in wanton violence and work towards restoring peace,” is the Assam Government’s official statement.

All images clicked by Barak Bulleitn’s correspondent on the spot.