Agatha Sangma, family escape mob fury in riot-hit Assam areas
By IANSFriday, January 7, 2011
SHILLONG - Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha K. Sangma, her brother and Meghalaya’s Leader Of Opposition Conrad K. Sangma and their father and former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A. Sangma Friday had a narrow escape from mob fury in the riot-hit areas of Assam’s Goalpara district.
The Sangmas found their way blocked by a mob while visiting a Rabha relief camp at Chotimati village.
“The mob armed with lethal weapons blocked our way with burning tyres. We managed to escape unhurt from the area only after Assam Police fired few rounds in the air to disperse the mob,” Conrad Sangma told IANS from Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills in western Meghalaya.
The trio were visiting the relief camp at the Chotimati after visiting the other relief camps in the riot-hit areas in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district.
Over 30,000 people have been displaced from their homes so far due to ethnic clashes between Garo and Rabha tribals along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
Altogether, eight people have died in the violence that sparked off on New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, the East Garo Hills district administration Friday advised ministers and legislators not to go to riot-hit areas in Assam without prior permission from district authorities.
