Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma links rape in Dhing to land grabbing

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that the recent incident of rape of a minor girl in Dhing was linked to a planned land grab.

Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Sarma said that the indigenous people in districts 12 to 14 are a minority and there is a tendency for them to indulge in criminal activities, which is leading to our indigenous Assamese people leaving their land because they do not feel safe. So, it is not just crimes against women, but there is a larger problem behind it which is related to land grabbing.

He said they have been following this pattern for the last 15 years: first they commit a crime, then spread fear among the Assamese, then they sell their land and leave. In Dhing, there is tremendous pressure on the Assamese to leave the area.

“The entire area was once 90 percent Assamese, but today the Assamese population has dropped to 10 percent due to ongoing criminal activities. The Assamese are moving away, other communities are occupying the vacated land. In recent years, criminal incidents have increased and are being used as a weapon to vacate land,” he said.

Sarma said these activities have increased after the recent Lok Sabha elections. “This can be inferred with the resurgence of a particular political party which has a support base among the groups involved in these crimes. These are the challenges facing Assam and we need to realise who is our friend and who is our enemy. This has been happening in Assam for decades, that is why the riots in Assam happened in the 80s.”

On Saturday, the main accused in the rape case of a minor girl allegedly escaped from police custody, jumped into a pond and died in Nagaon district of Assam. The accused, identified as Tafujal Islam, was brought to the spot where the crime allegedly took place around 4 am to recreate the crime scene. He then escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond at Dhing in Nagaon district of Assam.