New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the home ministry for a report on the violence near the Assam-Nagaland border, in which at least 15 people have been killed.
Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, will travel to Assam tomorrow. Sources say the government is prepared to send extra forces to the region if the state asks for help.
On Tuesday, Assamese protesters clashed with the police in Golaghat. The police opened fire after batons and tear gas failed to work. One person was run over by a truck during the clashes and 21 people were injured.
The police asserted that no one had been hit during firing.
Some 10,000 displaced villagers have been driven to relief camps in Uriamghat, in a wave of violence by Naga insurgents last week in seven villages along the border.
These villages have both Nagas and Assamese people, but landowners do not have proper records.
The border dispute began over 50 years ago over a patch of land claimed by a Naga and an Assamese land owner, when Nagaland became a separate state. The dispute continues despite a Supreme Court-backed mediation process.
The last round of mediation took place in Delhi over a year ago. A temporary pact places the disputed area under central forces but local people say they don't feel safe.