Violence spirals, Biharis in Assam head for their unknown ‘home’

FOR 35-year-old Ramesh and even his father Baldev Singh, home was a place in Assam’s Dibrugarh. They were born here and had a hotel in ...

FOR 35-year-old Ramesh and even his father Baldev Singh, home was a place in Assam’s Dibrugarh. They were born here and had a hotel in Belbarhi’s Katnani. But all of a sudden, the two found themselves to be targets of the anti-Bihari fury spanning Assam.

At Patna station with all that is left of his life’s earnings, he was relieved to be alive. In Nauganpur, his ancestral village in Bihar’s Vaishali district, he has an uncle. ‘‘I don’t have land or any assets here. We all will go to my uncle and see what is in store,’’ he said.

The Bihari exodus that began as a trickle is gradually becoming a flood.

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Subodh Singh and his uncle, who were running a grocery store in Dibrugarh, were in the train. ‘‘Our shop was looted and then it was set ablaze. We managed to save our lives,’’ he said.

With violence in Assam spiralling, Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi appealed to the people of Assam to maintain peace. She said Assam CM had written to her about the unavailability of forces in Assam. RJD chief Laloo Yadav will leave for Delhi tomorrow to meet the PM, Deputy Prime Minister and the Congress president.

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