Author:
Publication: The Assam Tribune
Date: April 21, 2001
With hardly twenty days left for
the Assam Assembly election a tense situation prevails here following the
second incidents hurting religious sentiment and provoking protests within
a week in Sonitpur district. According to sources unidentified miscreants
desecrated the Kali idol situated at Madhya Tezpur Yuba Sangha Club at
Nepalipatty under Tezpur police station and later burnt the idol on Thursday
night. Senior civil and police officials including Syodian Abbasi, Deputy
Commissioner, Sonitpur, Sri Padma Kumar Das, Superintendent of Police,
Sonitpur rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation. However, on
the intervention of the senior district officials the situation was brought
under control.
It may be mentioned that a similar
incident hurting religious sentiments took place at Rangapara on October
16 last year following which three persons were killed in the police firing
while six others sustained bullet injuries. And on April 14 this year at
Borgang, 22 kms away from Biswanath Charali sub-division in Sonitpur district
objects hurting religious sentiments were recovered from the manikut at
Sukansati Namgarh and in the adjacent Shiva temple. Two persons were arrested
in this connection.
Meanwhile, condemning the incident
the Tezpur unit, RSS, Viswa Hindu Parishad, North Assam Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (NACCI) Tezpur and some religious organisations have urged
the district administration to immediately book the culprits. Sri Sarat
Chandra Baishya, president VHP Tezpur unit said that a conspiracy is on
in Sonitpur district to disturb the communal harmony. All shops and business
establishments remained closed today.
