Assam: Two shot dead by police during eviction drive in Kamrup Metropolitan district

At least two persons were shot dead by the police in Assam’s Kamrup Metropolitan district on Thursday after an eviction drive turned violent, a senior police official confirmed to Scroll.

Several police officers were also injured in a scuffle with the residents, the official said.

The incident occurred in Kachutali village under the Sonapur revenue circle on the outskirts of Guwahati.

The deceased persons were identified as 18-year-old Jubahir Ali and Haidar Ali. Both were residents of Kachutali.

Jubahir Ali’s father, 40 -year-old Giasuddin, told Scroll: “People were living under the tarpaulin and makeshift houses. The officials came again today again around 10 am and asked to vacate the place immediately. Many people were angry as they have nowhere to go.”

“My child was among the crowd when the police fired on him,” said Giasuddin, who works as a daily wage labourer at a cement company. He said their house was dismantled during the eviction drive.

On Monday, the district administration bulldozed more than 140 homes of persons living on government land, The Times of India reported.

“The administration launched the eviction on Monday and some people were living under tarpaulin,” Main Haque Choudhuri, a Kachutali resident and former president of Sonapur panchayat, told Scroll. “They asked the evicted people to vacate the place again today [Thursday]. As they don’t...

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