Situation tensed in Ranga Reserve Forest of Lakhimpur district

 A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: At a time when government level talk is going as an attempt to make an end to the Assam-Arunachal border dispute after signing an agreement between Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu, the illegal encroachers from the neighbouring State have left no stone unturned to create havoc in the Ranga Reserve Forest under Lakhimpur district located in the border area. As a part of their aggressive attempt to encroach upon the Assam’s land in Lakhimpur district, Arunachali miscreants once again fired shot at Assam’s Forest Officials on Thursday afternoon.

This firing incident took place at Jutuli Bagan area under Rampur Beat of the said Reserve Forest while a team of Assam forest officials of Lakhimpur Forest Division, led by Ashok Kumar Das, Assistant Conservator of Forest arrived at the Forest Beat to make an inquiry into an encroached area. Notably, a few days back, Arunachali encroachers built several infrastructures and houses at Jutuli Bagan by destroying the vegetation there.

Following the report of this fresh encroachment, the 12 member-team of Assam forest officials inspected the encroached area on Thursday and saw some Arunachali people killing a bison in one of the houses the encroachers built and distributing the beef. As soon as the team of the Assam forest officials arrived at the place, the encroachers shared the information of their arrival with other Arunachali people over mobile phone. Instantly, a crowd of Arunachali people thronged at the place and claimed that land to be of Arunachal Pradesh. They interrogated why the team of Assam Forest officials went to that place. At that time, the gathering of Arunachali people increased at the place and smelling the imminent danger, the team of Assam forest officials were compelled to retreat from the encroached area. Then the Arunachali miscreants fired shots at the team three times. However, the forest officials had a narrow escape.

Later, the victim forest officials filed a case at Silonibari Police Outpost regarding the incident. Notably, at the same place, Arunachali miscreants shot at Assam forest guards on November 20 last year, while they prevented them from felling trees. Prior to it on November 20 of the same year, the Assam-Arunachal Inter-State border dispute took an alarming twist in Lakhimpur district. On that day, a section of aggressors-cum-encroachers from Arunachal Pradesh manhandled the DFO at Dhemagar under the same Reserve Forest. Further, the aggressors held up the team of forest officials including the DFO at the spot for more than one and half hour. They misbehaved with the DFO arguing with him and snatched away his I-Card. They even snatched away the rifle of the security personnel. They also took away the mobile phone of the DFO and tore the uniform of a forest guard.

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