OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: Bodo National Students' Union (BONSU) along with Bodo Writers' Academy, Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM) and Bodoland Senior Citizens' Forum, on Sunday staged protest in front of Kokrajhar police station demanding immediate release of arrested Bodo leaders-DD Narzary, working president of BJSM, Hitesh Basumatary, former MLA, and Bikram Daimary, president of Bodoland Contractors' Association.
A joint memorandum was sent to the Ppresident of India, Prime Minister of India, Governor of Assam, Chief Minister of Assam and ST Commission to look into suppression and systematic harassment on indigenous tribal people and urged to take an immediate measure to stop atrocities on tribal people.
Talking to reporters, the president of BONSU, Bonjit Manjil Basumatary said that three Bodo leaders – DDNarzary, working president of BJSM, Hitesh Basumatary, former MLA, and Bikram Daimary, president of BCA, were arrested by police in the wee hours on Saturday without legal warrant issued to them. He said it was unfortunate that police team violated the right to live in peace and harassed the family members late night. He said the recovery of assault rifles from the house of former MLA Hitesh Basumatary was totally fake and fabricated.
Basumatary said that senior citizen and working president of BJSM, DD Narzary has been raining voice against the failure of the government to protect the tribal belts and blocks from illegal encroachers. He also said that Narzary continued to raise voice for protection of tribal political rights and opposed the dereservation move of existing tribal seats without evicting non-tribal illegal encroachers in tribal belts and blocks. He demanded that the Government of India should take strong action on the police officials who had violated the right to live in peace.
The president of Bodo Writers' Academy, Dinanath Basumatary said the arrest of the Bodo leaders, including a former MLA, was a natter of concern. "The government is claiming that BTR has become peaceful and Kokrajhar has turned into a city of peace but the arrest of Bodo leaders seems to be a government conspiracy to crush the voices of tribal people opposing the dereservation move of tribal seats in Assam and BTC," he said.
Basumatary also said that DD Narzary raised voice against the anti-tribal policies of the State Government and vehemently opposed the move to dereserve ST seats in 6th schedule BTC area, for which the government hatched a conspiracy to jail Bodo leaders who raised voice against the government's unilateral decision. He cautioned that the Bodo and tribal masses would be compelled to take the path of movement if the government failed to stop anti-tribal policies.
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