Five dead in clashes,Kokrajhar tense

Even as tension spread to the entire sub-division where Muslims of migrant origin have reportedly increased rather rapidly in the past two decades,two rickshaw-pullers,Momir Ali and Khalilur Rahman,were killed when miscreants attacked them with sharp weapons in Gossaigaon on Thursday.

Kokrajhar Deputy Commissioner K Narzary,meanwhile,said the situation was tense but under control on Friday due to heavy deployment of security forces. Normal life was paralysed in the district due to a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the Bengali Youth Federation (BYF) demanding a judicial probe into the incident.

Educational institutions,shops and banks remained close while vehicular traffic remained off the roads,Narzary said. Attendance in government offices was also almost nil. Hundreds of truck carrying essential items to different Northeastern states were stranded at the Srirampur inter-state gate due to the bandh on Friday.

There is tension in Gossaigaon,but the situation is under control. A few persons have been already arrested by the police,and at least one of them in connection with the incidents, Narzary said.

Hariyapet village has been witnessing tension for the past couple of years over an alleged dispute of boundary between a temple and a mosque. There is also a pending land dispute between the two communities over establishment of an idgah maidan and a cremation ground for the past few months.

State Agriculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma visited the area and met family members of the deceased. She also met leaders of both the communities and asked them to live in peace and harmony. Gossaigaon incidentally shares borders

with West Bengal and is close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.