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SILCHAR: The Indian Army on Wednesday conducted a flag march in Kokrajhar district, and a peace meeting was held in the presence of state ministers and the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief, Hagrama Mohilary, to help restore normalcy in the district.

Clashes erupted in the district on January 20 between members of the Bodo and Adivasi communities over the death of two persons in a mob lynching incident. Four Army columns deployed in sensitive areas carried out joint patrolling with the civil administration in and around Karigaon as a confidence-building measure. Officials said the Army, along with the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), continues to be deployed in the district, along with the state police. About 1,000 people who fled their homes amid the unrest are currently housed in five relief camps set up in local schools. Security forces are encouraging families to return home as confidence-building measures continue. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is in Davos, dispatched state ministers Jayanta Malla Barua and Charan Boro to Kokrajhar to reach out to the people and review the situation. A peace meeting was also held at the BTC Assembly Auditorium on Wednesday afternoon. In a post on X, Barua said he chaired a meeting in the presence of BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary and senior police officials to assess the situation and take additional measures to maintain law and order. He added that representatives from over 400 organisations, cutting across communities, participated in the interaction, and they emphasised collective responsibility, inter-community coordination, and sustained dialogue to preserve peace and social harmony. The trigger for the violence was an incident that occurred around 7.30 pm on Monday, when a vehicle carrying construction workers from the Bodo community was stopped by a mob on suspicion of cattle theft. During the confrontation, the vehicle - a Mahindra Scorpio -reportedly hit two Adivasi people at Mansingh Road under Kokrajhar police station, after which the occupants were assaulted by the mob, who also set the vehicle on fire. While one of the victims died on Monday night, another man succumbed to his injuries during treatment on Tuesday, police said, identifying the deceased as Sikhna Jwhwlao Bismit and Sunil Murmu. Four others sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at Kokrajhar Medical College and Hospital. Police said 19 people were arrested and some more detained for questioning. On Tuesday, members of both communities blocked the National Highway near Karigaon, burned tyres, torched houses and allegedly set fire to a government office. The Karigaon police outpost also came under attack during the clashes between the two communities, officials said. Prohibitory orders remain in force across Kokrajhar district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, while mobile internet and data services are still suspended in Kokrajhar and Chirang as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of rumours. BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary has called for peace, saying there have been attempts to disturb the region's long-standing communal harmony.