Not an inch lost: Assam CM amid border clashes with Mizoram

New Delhi: Assam-Mizoram border situation is "under control" and more CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) troops have been deployed to keep a check on both sides, the government said today, a day after five Assam police officers were killed in clashes.

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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said the state will go to Supreme Court for protection of Innerline Forest Reserve from destruction and encroachment. Roads are being constructed and forests are being cleared for cultivation, which can't be allowed, Mr Sarma told reporters amid border dispute with neighbouring Mizoram.  

"Not an inch of Assam's land could be encroached by Mizoram. People have sacrificed their lives but boundary has been protected, which we will continue to do at any cost," Mr Sarma said emphatically, a day after the unprecedented clashes caught the nation's attention.

As both the states blame each-other for violence, Assam will deploy three commando battalions in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts, bordering Mizoram, the Chief Minister has declared. The state has declared a three-day mourning to condole the deaths in Monday's clashes.

The Union Home Ministry has said it is closely monitoring the situation. On Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Chief Ministers of both the states - Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram's Zoramthanga.  The clashes come shortly after his visit to northeast region. 

Himanta Sarma on Monday said "clear evidences are emerging" that the Mizoram Police used Light Machine Guns against the Assam Police personnel. Mizoram said the violence started after the Assam Police crossed the border and "over-ran" a police post at Kolasib.

"The approach of the central government has consistently been that inter-state disputes can be resolved only with the cooperation of the state governments concerned and that the central government acts only as a facilitator for amicable settlement of the dispute in the spirit of mutual understanding," the Union Home Ministry today stated in parliament amid disruptions.

Opposition leaders have been targeting the BJP over the violence and the border dispute between the two states. A seven-member committee will be formed, former Union Minister and Congress leader Jitendra Singh Alwar said today, "to assess the dispute and the ensuing violence that has cost the lives of police personnel among others".

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi this morning attacked Amit Shah in a tweet and said, "the Home Minister has failed the country yet again". Among other opposition leaders, the Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee slammed the BJP and tweeted: "India deserves better".

Three districts of Mizoram -- Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit -- share a 164.6 km long inter-state border with Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts. The area has seen clashes for decades, with the locals and security forces on each side accusing the other of intrusion. The last incident was reported in June.

The dispute dates back to the British-era when two border notifications were issued.  Mizoram was earlier part of Assam and called 'Lushai Hills'. It became a union territory in 1972, and a state in 1987. The state, which shares border with three others, also has border dispute with Tripura.