Assam CM Sarma expresses willingness to 'discuss & settle' border issues with Mizoram

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday claimed that there were explosions within the territory of Mizoram and asked the neighbouring state's Police to investigate the matter. The Assam CM said that there was no explosion in the state territory and informed that they had no interest in occupying any land that belonged to Mizoram. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We are not going to take an inch of land from Mizoram. I am willing to discuss and settle the border problem with Mizoram."

This statement by the Assam Chief Minister comes after a grenade was hurled at Assam officials at the Mizoram border. 

Grenade hurled at Assam officials on Mizoram border; no casualty

Earlier, a grenade was hurled at a team of Assam government officials in Cachar district by suspected miscreants of neighbouring Mizoram on Saturday when an eviction drive against illegal encroachment was going on. Though no casualty was reported in the incident at Dholai Dholakhal locality, senior police officials were rushed to the spot to assess the situation.

According to official sources, a section of the people of Mizoram had allegedly encroached around a 6.5 km area within the territory of Assam, following which the police started the eviction process a few days back. "The miscreants were obstructing the men on duty from the construction of a road from Dholai Dholakhal to upper Painam. As the work was getting delayed, a government delegation comprising senior police officials had visited the spot today," an official said.

The encroachers, who were accompanied by a few armed men, had crossed a ditch and threw a grenade at the officials of Assam visiting the place, the official said.

"No one was injured in the blast, which took place on the Assam side. The police immediately intensified search and patrolling in the area. The situation remains tense. Following the bomb blast, the local residents have started fleeing the area," he had added.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Assam Police has been deployed along inter-state borders of Mizoram and Nagaland to protect its constitutional boundary. "We are working towards resolving the boundary issue. As Assam is the Gateway to the North East, we are always open for discussions but there should be no encroachment of our land," he had said at a press conference in Guwahati. Last year, a school of upper Painam was bombed by miscreants from Mizoram and it was damaged badly.

(Image: PTI)