Assam eviction drive: Homes of 150 families bulldozed in village where police shot dead two men

Homes of 150 families were bulldozed in the Kachutali village of Assam’s Kamrup Metropolitan district as the eviction drive resumed on Tuesday, less than two weeks after two men were shot dead by the police amid violent clashes, The Indian Express reported.

Officials from the district administration had on September 9 bulldozed nearly 240 homes, the majority of them belonging to Bengali-origin Muslims from Morigaon district. The residents had built their homes in the low-lying area over several decades.

Three days later, on September 12, the officials returned and gave them an ultimatum to vacate the land in two hours. This led to a violent clash between the residents and the officials, during which two men were shot dead by the police.

Thirty-three persons, including 22 government and police officers, were also injured in the clash.

The residents moved the Gauhati High Court challenging the eviction notice they were served on September 13.

The eviction notice alleged that the residents were in “illegal” possession of the land and were “unauthorised” to claim the plot as it was meant for those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, as per the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation. It ordered them to vacate the land within three days.

On Friday, the High Court stayed the eviction of several families from a plot of land in the village...

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