Man Shot Dead At Assam-Arunachal Pradesh Border, 2 Others Injured

A man was shot dead and two injured in a firing incident this morning along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The incident has been reported from the Dhemaji district of Assam, which is along the border shared by the two northeastern states. Initial reports say some people from Arunachal Pradesh crossed the border and opened fire on three people on the Assam side who were planting trees and saplings. 

The dead person has been identified as Boga Chutia. The injured have been identified as Pushpa Gogoi and Montu Gogoi.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said some criminals do it for land, but he has asked the District Collector and the SP to investigate.

"We still haven't solved the boundary issue. Generally, the neighbour state doesn't attack us. Some criminals do all this for land. I have asked DC and SP to investigate the case," he said.

Dhemaj Superintendent of Police said he is in touch with the administration on the Arunachal Pradesh side and has sought help in catching the accused.

"We have already called up the lower siang administration. They are coming shortly. We have already informed them that we need their help to arrest the accused persons," Ranjan Bhuyan, Superintendent of Police, Dhemaj, said on reaching the spot.

The Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh governments had last month signed an agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to resolve their decades-old border disputes. Officials said the two states decided to resolve the dispute in 123 villages.

The two states share an 804.1-km-long border.

The Assam Chief Minister had said the deal was a "big and successful" moment. His Arunachal counterpart Pema Khandu described the deal as "historic".  

Regional committees dealing with specific areas were formed last year, comprising ministers, local MLAs, and officials from both sides to take the discussion forward.

Arunachal Pradesh, which was made a union territory in 1972, has been maintaining that several forested tracts in the plains traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities and these were "unilaterally" transferred to Assam earlier.

After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee was appointed, which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam contested this and the matter was in the Supreme Court for a long time.