Bangalore/New Delhi:
The Prime Minister and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde have phoned the Chief Minister of Karnataka, asking him to ensure the safety of thousands of students from the north east. Jagadish Shettar, who heads the BJP government in Karnataka, has said students are not at risk.
Two special trains left Bangalore on Wednesday night for Assam - officials stressed that these were scheduled last month to accommodate commuters travelling home for the long weekend for Eid.
The Chief Minister said, according to the Press Trust of India, that police officials have been using the public address system at the railway station to announce that there is no law and order problem or reason to exit the city in panic. The state's Home Minister R Ashoka also visited the station to counter rumours and reassure passengers that no community has been targeted or attacked. Bangalore with its software firms and educational institutions is among India's most cosmopolitan cities.
The alert for the police and the administration comes after reports that threatening sms-es had been received by some North-Eastern students. Doctored photos on social media are also being circulated, say sources, resulting in tension.
Ethnic clashes in Assam killed more than 70 people and displaced nearly four Lakh people over the last month. Only in the last few days have some residents of the areas in and around Kokrajhar, the epicentre of the violence, begun returning to their villages from relief camps set up at school buildings and colleges.
The clashes between Assam's tribals and Bengali-speaking Muslims have put other cities on edge in the last few days. Over the weekend, a demonstration in Mumbai against the violence in Assam was attended by thousands; it ended in a riot with an armed mob attacking the crowd, policemen and reporters.
A doctored mms that was circulated in Mumbai also allegedly provoked violence against the North-Eastern community in nearby Pune. 12 people have been attacked in the last week in the city known for its IT hub and colleges. 11 people have been arrested.