Mohan Lal Biswas still shudders to think about that horrific night on November 1, 2018.
On that day, his sons Abinash, then 21, and Ananta, then 18, were among the five gunned down by suspected Ulfa (Independent) cadres at Bishonimukh Kherbari at Dhola in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district. Over one-and-a-half years later, shops run by the victims have not opened.
“My wrists got injured during the attack and doing hard work is difficult. I feel horrified whenever I think of running the mobile shop of my sons. Is there any guarantee that such violence will not be orchestrated in future? It’s not only me. All other victims’ kin are on the same boat along with other villagers. They want to conduct some business by opening a shop but couldn’t owing to fear psychosis,” Biswas told The Telegraph on Thursday.
“We appeal to the government to establish a permanent army camp and a police station in the village and intensify patrolling,” he appealed with folded hands.
The grocery shop of Shyam Lal at Bishonimukh village in Tinsukia. Picture by Manoj Kumar Ojha
Another grocery shop, run by Shyam Lal Biswas, 50, Biswas’s younger brother who too was killed in the massacre, has been closed since the incident. “Shyam’s family members left for our maternal house after the incident. They may return if we are assured of security. Even today we feel insecure as soon as the police patrol team leaves the village,” Biswas said.
“The tourism industry can flourish here and the people can lead happy lives since the Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola-Sadiya bridge), inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, 2017, is just 1km from our village. But there is no sign of development. We feel insecure,” said Subal Namasudra, brother of another victim, Dhananjay Namasudra.
Bishonimukh Kherbari is one of the eight villages under Aroimuria panchayat of Dhola (Saikhowa) block. It has around 300 Bengali-speaking households. Earlier, they were fish-mongers but later adopted farming for a livelihood as the land along the Brahmaputra is fertile and suitable for vegetables and paddy cultivation.
