Criticising the Assam Police over handling of the violence along the Assam-Meghalaya border that led to killing of six people, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said it used force in an "unprovoked, uncontrolled and arbitrary" manner.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, also said the interstate border is peaceful, and the recent clashes had erupted between locals and forest guards.
"I feel there was no need to fire to the extent the police did. The firing was a little unprovoked, and the police could have acted in a little more controlled manner," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the national capital.
According to the police, force was used for defensive reasons during the clash, the chief Minister said.
"However, in my view, it (force) was used a little arbitrarily. That should not have happened," he said.
Six people, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at a disputed location in West Karbi Anglong district along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the early hours of Tuesday, after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest personnel.
Mr Sarma said the Assam government is trying to do its bit "very sincerely", and has already transferred the SP of West Karbi Anglong district, while some other officials have been suspended.
The Assam government has ordered a judicial probe and urged the Centre to conduct a CBI or NIA investigation, he said.
"We have not taken this as a prestige battle. If personnel of Assam Police were at fault, then they will also come under the ambit of investigation," the chief minister said.
Mr Sarma also asserted that the incident was not at all related to the long-standing border dispute between the two northeastern states.
"I am in touch with the Meghalaya Chief Minister ... The Assam-Meghalaya border is peaceful and it has always been peaceful," he said.
Referring to a few statements, especially by opposition leaders, Mr Sarma claimed that neither did anyone encroach on Assam's land nor was there an attempt to clear encroachment.
"I don't know why the border issue has been brought in here. The police and locals had an altercation, resulting in firing," he said.
Assam and Meghalaya have a long-standing dispute in 12 areas along the 884.9-km-long inter-state border, and the location where the violence took place is one of those.
The two states had signed a memorandum of understanding in March this year towards ending the dispute in six of the areas.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 and had since then challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, which demarcated the border between the two states.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Jai Jawan: John Abraham's Real-Life Experience In Infantry Combat Vehicle: "Seems Indestructible"
Assam Cops Find "IED-Like Material" After Terror Group Says It Planted Bombs "Withdrawn Now": Himanta Sarma On Assam Hospital's 'Regressive' Advisory Assam Police On High Alert Along Indo-Bangla Border Amid Bangladesh Unrest Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged For Matthew Perry's Death "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP What Is The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid's Origin? Scientists Have An Answer AP ICET Counselling 2024 Revised Schedule Out, Check Details Manipuri Girl's 'Jana Gana Mana' Rendition Goes Viral, Wins Praise Online Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.