Assam has taken up with the Central and Nagaland governments the issue of safety of the people of Assam residing in Nagaland following the recent lynching of a rape accused in Dimapur.
In a statement in the state Assembly, the government today said that the safety and security of people from Assam residing in Nagaland, along with their properties, is a priority of the Assam government which is taking all measures to ensure it.
"Our Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has spoken to his Nagaland counterpart T R Zeliang for ensuring safety and security of people from Assam residing in Dimapur and other parts of that state. The Nagaland CM has assured that all steps are being taken," said the statement read out by minister Rockybul Hussain on behalf of Gogoi.
The statement said Gogoi has also written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue and urged the Centre to take it up with the Nagaland government for bringing them guilty to justice and ensure safety of the people of Assam residing in the neighbouring state.
In his letter to the Union Home Minister, Gogoi wrote, "the rule of law must prevail. Mobs cannot be allowed to take law into their hands. You are aware that the social fabric the North East India is very diverse and incidents like this tend to make it most sensitive and fragile".
"Attacks on people of a particular community, especially to those belonging to minority can have widespread repercussion in Assam, which has a huge population of Muslim minority", he said.
Gogoi also informed Singh that "a high alert has been sounded throughout Assam to prevent any untoward incident and to ensure the safety and security of Naga people in Assam in the aftermath of the incident."
Stating the Assam government has demanded an enquiry into the lynching and strong action against those responsible for it, the statement also referred that the Nagaland government has ordered a judicial probe into the incident and placed under immediate suspension the deputy commissioner, the superintendent of police and the senior superintendent of the Dimapur Central Jail in this connection.
For ensuring the safety and security of the people of Nagaland residing in Assam, the state government here has taken up measures and alerted all DCs, SPs, commissioners of divisions and police range DIGs in this regard, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Gogoi said outside the Assembly that the security at Dimapur Central Jail was under central security forces who ‘failed’ to stop the jail-break and lynching of the rape accused.
"I came to know today that the security in the jail was under central security forces and so in that case, the Centre is responsible for ensuring the security of the inmates," Gogoi said.
Earlier, as soon as the House assembled for the day, the opposition members stood up demanding state government's action for ensuring safety of the people of Assam in the neighbouring state and an enquiry into the lynching incident.
Syed Farid Khan hailing from Karimganj district of Assam and residing in Dimapur was arrested on suspicion of raping a Naga woman there on February 24 and remanded to judicial custody in Dimapur Central Jail the following day.
On March 5, a mob broke into the jail, dragged him out, stripped him naked, beat him up, pelted him with stones and dragged him towards the centre of Dimapur town, seven kilometres away.
He died of his injuries along the way after which the mob hung the body at the clock tower.
