Guwahati: On August 12, thousands of Islamist land encroachers attacked police and district administration personnel in the Sonapur area of Assam. Attacked by Muslims of Bangladeshi descent who had unlawfully established by building homes in the tribal belt (property set aside for the use of the tribal population exclusively), 12 police personnel—including women police and circle officers—were injured. In order to subdue the assailants, police had to resort to firing. In the course of the police action, two attackers were killed. The tribal belt territory in Sonapur, 30 kilometres from the capital city of Guwahati, has reportedly been overrun by thousands of individuals of Bangladeshi descent.
On August 21, four tractors full of Bangladesh origin Muslim were seized by villagers at midnight as they were entering the tribal belt in an intention of encroachment. Locals alerted the government and police. After conducting an area assessment, the police and administration discovered that hundreds of unlawful families had built permanent homes on acres of tribal belt land. From August 22 to 24, the authorities began the orderly eviction process in the area on the allocated land. However, the encroachers built temporary homes there once more after the expulsion. The administration gave the individuals notice to vacate the property right away. Similarly, from September 8th, the Kamrup metro administration began evicting residents from sector 5 and the adjacent parts of the belt.
According to locals, the attack was organised the night before when a few dubious individuals paid the area a visit. Thousands of people, including women, attacked police and other authorities on September 12 when the administration team and police arrived in the Sector 5 area to begin the eviction process. They used bamboo, sharp iron, and other weapons to attack the police teams. A bunch of young youths pelted stones and glass bottles at the police squad. Twelve people were hurt in the unexpected attack by the encroachers, including law enforcement and administrative staff. Several female police constables and the Sonapur circle officer were hurt in the incident. To keep everything under control, more CRPF and police officers were sent to the spot.
As the attackers have not yet been taken into custody by the police, the atmosphere in Sonapur is severe right now. The locals in the vicinity seek a full eviction from the reserve land and strict action from the police and government. It should be noted that Muslims who have a well-thought-out plan are attempting to migrate from Muslim majority districts in an attempt to gain control of the Hindu majority assembly constituencies. The majority of the individuals that attacked the police on September 12 while encroaching on tribal belt land in Sonapur come from the districts of Barpeta, Darrang, Dhubri, and Nagaon, which have a Muslim majority. The purpose of the systematic invasion into the tribal belt lands in the Sonapur area, according to the locals, is to increase their voter base in order to gain control of the ST reserve assembly constituency.
