Guwahati, October 10 (NNN): At least four jute farmers were killed and 20 others injured in police firing in north-central Assam’s Darrang district Monday afternoon. The incident was sort of a throwback to one of India’s first peasants uprising that claimed 140 peasants in 1894 at Patharughat nearby.
The farmers, mostly migrant Muslims, had blocked National Highway 52 at Bechimari, some 80 km northeast of Guwahati, demanding better prices for their jute produce. Police blamed them for instigating violence.
“A police team had gone from Dalgaon town nearby to the spot after receiving information about the road blockade. The policemen requested the farmers to disperse as they were disrupting road traffic. But they turned unruly, pelting stones at the personnel and a magistrate on duty,” said Darrang superintendent of police Vivek Raj Singh.
“Tear gas shells and blank shots were fired to scare the farmers but they refused to back away. Eight policemen including a DSP were also injured,” Singh said, adding that the incident could have been averted had the farmers listened to “our assurances that the matter would be taken up at an appropriate level”.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi expressed anguish at the loss of lives. “We have ordered a probe into the incident so that those responsible are brought to book,” he said.
The minimum support price of jute set by Jute Corporation of India Limited is Rs 1,515 for per quintal of Tossa variety grown in Assam. Middlemen had been procuring jute from cultivators at Rs 900 per quintal but the price had suddenly slumped to Rs 550 per quintal.
The farmers, mostly migrant Muslims, had blocked National Highway 52 at Bechimari, some 80 km northeast of Guwahati, demanding better prices for their jute produce. Police blamed them for instigating violence.
“A police team had gone from Dalgaon town nearby to the spot after receiving information about the road blockade. The policemen requested the farmers to disperse as they were disrupting road traffic. But they turned unruly, pelting stones at the personnel and a magistrate on duty,” said Darrang superintendent of police Vivek Raj Singh.
“Tear gas shells and blank shots were fired to scare the farmers but they refused to back away. Eight policemen including a DSP were also injured,” Singh said, adding that the incident could have been averted had the farmers listened to “our assurances that the matter would be taken up at an appropriate level”.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi expressed anguish at the loss of lives. “We have ordered a probe into the incident so that those responsible are brought to book,” he said.
The minimum support price of jute set by Jute Corporation of India Limited is Rs 1,515 for per quintal of Tossa variety grown in Assam. Middlemen had been procuring jute from cultivators at Rs 900 per quintal but the price had suddenly slumped to Rs 550 per quintal.
