Bunker damaged by Meghalaya protesters at border: Assam cops

DIPHU (ASSAM): A group of people from Meghalaya on Tuesday allegedly damaged a bunker of the Assam police near the interstate border during a protest, a senior police official of West Karbi Anglong district of Assam said.

Senior police officers of both states have rushed to the area and brought the situation under control. Tension started at the Umlapher area in the morning after one person of the Assam Police camp allegedly misbehaved with a man from the bordering state on Monday night at a checkpoint, SP of West Karbi Anglong district A Basumatary said.

There is no restriction on crossing the interstate border.

In protest against the “illtreatment”, a group of people from Meghalaya gheraoed the Assam Police camp at Umlapher and some of them damaged a bunker of the camp. The West Karbi Anglong superintendent of police rushed to the spot and held discussions with his counterpart of neighbouring Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya. The situation was defused and normalcy restored, “It was a result of a misunderstanding. Everything is peaceful now,” Basumatary said.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972. The problem between the two states started when Meghalaya challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act of 1971, which gave Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills or present-day Karbi Anglong region to Assam. Meghalaya contends that both these blocks formed part of the erstwhile United Khasi and Jaintia Hills district when it was notified in 1835. At present, there are 12 points of dispute along the 733-km Assam-meghalaya border.