Guwahati, Sept 20: Bodo Civil groups on Monday observed a 12-hour bandh in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) seeking justice for the two youth who were killed in a police encounter last Saturday.

While police claims the duo — Jwngsar Mushahary and Janak Kr Brahma — were shot dead during a raid at a camp of the newly-raised United Liberation of Bodoland (ULB) at Ultapani in Kokrajhar near Indo-Bhutan border, the deceased’s family members and the outfit state that they weren’t part of the outfit. The duo were former cadres of the Saoraigwra faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) who had come over ground after the outfit signed peace accord with the Centre and Assam government.

The Monday’s bandh was called by a group named All Bodo Peoples from sunrise to sunset — 6am to 6 pm.

Only school, college, University and pharmacy were allowed to be kept open, mentioned a statement issued by the organisation.

Allegations of fake encounter

Meanwhile, Senior spokesperson of Assam Congress and In-charge of BTR Congress Coordination  Committee, Gorjon Mushahary has sharply criticised the Assam government terming the death of the duo to be “fake encounter”.

“The evidences suggest that the two youths were killed in a fake encounter which isn’t new for this region. The Additional SP should be held accountable for such gross inhuman act,” Mushahary said in a media interaction at Kokrajhar.

The father of slain Jwngsar Mushahary who lives in a remote village Silekha in Kokrajhar district earlier told media that his son was alive and in police custody at Sarfanguri Police Station a night before they were shot.

The ULB on Sunday had released a video in which it said that the two deceased were not members of their group.

Fake encounter a possibility

While Police authorities are yet to clear on Mushahary’s parents’s or ULB’s claims, the allegations are not unwarranted based on the region’s history.

Back in 2017, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rajnish Rai, the then Inspector General of CRPF  North East Sector posted at Shillong in Meghalaya, wrote an elaborate report on why he has reasons to believe that two youths,  encountered by Army, Assam Police, CRPF and the Sashastra Seema Bal in suspicion of being NDFB-19 cadres, was staged.

In his report sent to CRPF headquarters in Delhi,  Rai alleged that the two men were picked up from a village and asked for a probe.

The curious case of new militant outfit after signing peace accord

Peace seems to have been halted at the threshold for BTR as at the end of every accord a new outfit is always ready to take up its place.

The first Bodoland Territorial Council agreement was signed by Assam, Centre and the then Hagrama Mohilary-led Bodoland Liberation Tiger in 2003, but National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) took its place which, after several offences and massacres, signed another peace accord with the Centre and Assam in January 2020. But NDFB was replaced by National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) to unleash their reign of terror and bloodshed in March 2021. After thay signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in August this year, the ULB took its place.