The Opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Monday met Assam governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya seeking his immediate intervention to ensure the protection of a section of the Muslim community in Upper Assam.

They met Acharya in connection with the seven-day deadline issued by a few organisations from Sivasagar district to the Miya people (Bengali-speaking Muslims hailing from Bangladesh) to leave Upper Assam, a development that has triggered tension among a section working in the region.

The deadline was in protest against last week’s Dhing "gangrape" case in which the three accused belonged to the Muslim community.

Though Miya people are engaged mostly in construction jobs, there are students and government employees studying and working in Upper Assam. They mostly hail from Lower Assam and the Barak Valley.

The Sivasagar organisations, which espouse the cause of the indigenous Assamese people, issued the deadline on Friday.

Their members even visited rented residences of this section in Sivasagar in the past two days to adhere to the deadline or face the consequences.

A Sivasagar resident told The Telegraph that there was simmering tension and business establishments in the busy town were downing their shutters by 8-8.30pm.

The AIUDF delegation, comprising MLAs and senior leaders, met Acharya at the Raj Bhawan and submitted a three-page memorandum, seeking immediate strict legal action against the “disturbing elements for their inflammatory statements”.

The AIUDF also requested the government to deploy adequate security forces in the affected areas of Upper Assam to ensure the “safety and security of the innocent” people and issue a “public statement condemning such hate speech and reassure all communities in Assam that their safety and rights will be protected” besides undertaking steps for promoting communal harmony.

The memorandum, while expressing concern over the “fear and anxiety” instilled among “a section of the Muslim community in Upper Assam”, said: “Some unknown organisations and fundamentalist groups have publicly issued threats against a section of the Muslim community demanding they should leave Upper Assam immediately or face dire consequences”.

“Such statements are not only alarming but also create a serious threat to communal harmony and safety of those said community in the region,” it said.

Mankachar MLA Aminul Islam, who led the delegation, flagged the public apology sought by the Hindi-speaking community in Sivasagar in the presence of a cabinet minister. “And now, we have this deadline threat. Where is the rule of law?” Islam asked.

“This act of intimidation has created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among those Muslim community, who now fear for their lives and livelihood. These threats are a direct violation of their fundamental rights as a citizen of India, including the right to live with dignity, freedom and security under Article 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India and also violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under Article 3,” the AIUDF memorandum said.

The Sivasagar police have launched a series of confidence-building measures, including a flag march on Monday afternoon with an official saying they will continue the practice for the next few days. The administration will also reach out to residents to hear their concerns. The police have also asked leaders of the indigenous organisations to sign bonds to ensure peace.