Five Assam Police personnel shot down by Mizoram Police in heated border dispute, CMs fight on Twitter

The age-old border disputes in the Northeast came to the fore once again as five Assam Police personnel were killed when violent clashes broke out between Assam Police and Mizoram Police on Monday.

Fifty policemen were also injured in the clashes, including the SP of Assam’s Cachar district, Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, who sustained a bullet injury in the leg.

Three districts of Mizoram — Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit — share a 164.6 km long inter-state border with Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts. And the borderlines have been the reason for dispute between the police personnel and locals for decades with every side accusing the other of intrusion.

The current demarcation, according to which the Manipur boundary begins from the trijunction of Lushai Hills, Cachar district of Assam and Manipur state, is not accepted by the Mizoram government. 

This issue has existed for decades and the previous government did not make serious attempts to solve it. A few days ago, Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Northeast to meet with the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of the states which are part of the North-Eastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA), and asked them to resolve the border issues.

The firing incident just a few days after the visit of the home minister shows that certain elements still do not want the border issues to be resolved. The Mizoram Police, whose firing killed 5 Assam policemen and injured many police personnel and civilians, claimed that they fired because Assam Police entered their territory as if the Assam-Mizoram border is an international border.

The act by Mizoram Police was brutal and not acceptable under Indian law. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted a video in which the Mizoram police were seen celebrating the death of Assam police personnel. “After killing 5 Assam police personnel and injuring many , this is how Mizoram police and goons are celebrating.- sad and horrific,” tweeted Sarma.

Sarma also claimed that Mizoram Police used Light Machine Guns (LMG). “Clear evidences are now beginning to emerge that unfortunately show that Mizoram Police has used Light Machine Guns (LMG) against personnel of 

@assampolice. This is sad, unfortunate and speaks volumes about the intention and gravity of the situation,” he tweeted.

The violent clashes at the border also resulted in a public spat between the chief ministers of both states.

Mizoram CM Zoramthanga took to Twitter on Monday and posted a video of the clashes while appealing to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The CM tweeted, “Shri @AmitShah ji.kindly look into the matter. This needs to be stopped right now”.

The Mizoram chief minister also appealed to the home minister about the alleged harassment faced by Mizo residents on their way back to the state. “Innoncent couple on their way back to Mizoram via Cachar manhandled and ransacked by thugs and goons. How are you going to justify these violent acts?,” he tweeted.

CM Himanta put out a counter tweet complaining against the SP of Kolasib district.

Himanta tweeted, “Honble @ZoramthangaCM ji , Kolasib (Mizoram) SP is asking us to withdraw from our post until then their civilians won’t listen nor stop violence. How can we run government in such circumstances? Hope you will intervene at earliest.”

Responding to Himanta’s tweet, Zoramthanga accused the Assam police of trespassing into Mizoram.

He tweeted, “Dear Himanta Ji, after cordial meeting of CMs by Hon’ble Shri Amit Shah Ji, surprisingly 2 companies of Assam Police with civilian’s lathicharged & tear gassed civilians at Vairengte Auto Rickshaw stand inside Mizoram today. They even overrun CRPF personnel /Mizoram Police.”

In a bid to douse the fire, CM Himanta dialled his Mizoram counterpart and proposed an urgent visit to the neighbouring state to resolve the conflict.

Himanta tweeted, “I have just spoken to Hon’ble Chief Minister Zoramthanga Ji. I have reiterated that Assam will maintain status quo and peace between the borders of our state. I have expressed my willingness to visit Aizawl and discuss these issues if need be.”

Tagging the prime minister in his response, the Mizoram CM wrote, “Hon’ble Himanta Biswa Ji, as discussed I kindly urge that Assam Police be instructed to withdraw from Vairengte for the safety of civilians.”

Both sides are now trying to justify their acts, the Mizoram Police more so. The Congress party, which did not make attempt to solve these issues in the last seven decades, started politics over the issue. 

“Just yesterday (Sunday) the Home Minister himself had chaired a meeting with the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of the North Eastern States to discuss interstate border dispute issues. What transpired between them? What were the policies to mitigate the border disputes adopted?” Congress sought to know.

“It has become a matter of great public concern as well as appalling humour that responsible persons like Chief Ministers both belonging to same NEDA alliance are openly arguing with each other on Twitter handles and they have also tagged the Home Minister and Prime Minister.”

The Union Home Ministry must solve these issues in collaboration with both states. In the last seven years, the NDA government built more infrastructure in the area and solved much more issues than Congress could do in seven decades and now it is high time the border disputes are resolved once and for all.