A school building near the inter-state boundary in Cachar district was destroyed. (Representational)
Silchar (Assam):
Amid tension on the Assam-Mizoram border, a primary school building near the inter-state boundary in Cachar district was destroyed in an explosion carried out by unknown people early on Saturday, police said.
A 12-hour bandh called by a students’ organisation in protest against the abduction and killing of an Assam resident allegedly by attackers of Mizoram also affected normal life in Cachar district.
The sound of the blast in the school building situated in a remote forest area of Sadirkhal in Dholai area was heard from far away, police said.
No casualty was reported in the explosion.
Investigations into the incident are on, police said.
This is the second explosion in a school building in Cachar district within a fortnight. On October 22, a bomb blast had taken place in a Bengali medium school at Khulicherra area of the district close to the inter-state boundary.
Senior police official GP Singh had on October 29 visited the border area in the district to review the law and order situation and said that the explosion in the school was possibly the handiwork of
some people out to terrorise the local people.
Tension has been prevailing along the Assam-Mizoram border since October 17 after some people damaged 18 temporary huts and three dwelling units, following which several rounds of talks were held among top officials of Assam, Mizoram and the Central government.
On November 4, Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta had visited the border and reviewed the prevailing law and order situation there.
Mr Baruah had said that the state government is “absolutely clear” about the constitutional boundary of Assam, and claimed that certain elements are playing a major part in stoking the fire of differences and disputes.
Mizoram shares a 164.6-km border with Assam.
Meanwhile, normal life was affected in Cachar district by a 12-hour Barak Bandh called by the All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association.
Barak valley in Southern Assam comprises three districts Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi.
The bandh was called in protest against the abduction and killing of Intazul Laskar, a resident of Lailapur close to the border, allegedly by people from Mizoram on Monday.
Markets, shops, private offices and financial institutions were closed, while vehicles remained off the road during the bandh, officials said.
Mizoram was previously a part of Assam until 1972, when it was carved out as a Union Territory. It became the 23rd state of India on February 20, 1987.