Lapangap headman denies involvement in Karbi villager’s death as border tension escalates

Shillong, Oct 11: Roads in Lapangap village of Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district remained deserted on Friday as residents stayed indoors amid heavy rain, while police personnel camped in the area a day after a violent clash with villagers from Assam’s Karbi Anglong district left one person dead.

Lapangap’s village headman asserted that the residents were not responsible for the death of the man from the Karbi community, claiming that they had retreated to their homes after being attacked.

A senior district official said that additional security forces have been deployed to prevent any escalation, as tension has been simmering along the inter-state border for the past week over paddy harvesting — with both sides claiming ownership of the disputed land.

"One camp has been set up on a hillock opposite Tapat village, where around 25 Meghalaya Police personnel are stationed," the official said.

About 30 police personnel had already been posted in Lapangap since a clash erupted in June this year, while another batch of around 25 personnel arrived on Thursday, followed by 25-30 more in full riot gear on Friday, the official added.

In the latest episode of violence, a group of people from Meghalaya allegedly began harvesting, which was opposed by the villagers from the Assam side.

Clashes broke out between residents of Lapangap village in Meghalaya and Tapat village in Assam on Thursday afternoon, and one person belonging to the Karbi community died.

The headman of Lapangap, Deimonmi Lyngdoh, said he did not know about the Karbi man's death earlier.

Rather, he claimed, "We could have died as over 500 Karbi men armed with dao and catapults attacked the harvest party. We ran for our lives along with the Meghalaya Police personnel."

He said the villagers had begun harvesting around 9 am on Thursday after receiving permission from the district administration, as paddy cultivated by about 42 families had overripened.

"Within 10 to 15 minutes, we were attacked... Our people were strictly told not to carry any weapon and we complied. All of us ran home," Lyngdoh said.

He claimed that they came to know later that the Karbi men outnumbered the Assam Police who prevented them from attacking the villagers of Lapangap.

"There was a melee between the Karbi men and their police. We have no hands in the death of the Karbi man. We came to know about the death only when we reached our village," he added.

He alleged that Karbi people not only from the neighbouring Tapat village but also from other nearby areas had joined in the assault.

The clash prompted Meghalaya Police to fire tear gas shells to disperse the mob, officials said. A night curfew was also imposed in the area later.

While villagers had faced no issues sowing rice during March-April, tension resurfaced in June after saplings planted by Karbi people on a hillock near the fields were uprooted by Lapangap villagers, who claimed the land belonged to them.

Since then, around 30-35 huts erected near the paddy fields were reportedly burnt by Karbi residents, and peace remained fragile in the area.

"The villagers are now waiting for the district authorities to assist them in completing the harvest since night curfew is in place," the village headman said.

The June incident had also seen a violent confrontation between villagers of Lapangap and residents of nearby Karbi-inhabited areas, prompting both Assam and Meghalaya police to tighten security along the inter-state boundary.

Lyngdoh also claimed that Karbi settlers of Tapat village had originally lived in Lapangap but were later given a hillock to settle down.

"Instead of being grateful, residents of Tapat, influenced by forces from outside their village, turned against us," he alleged.

Tension has since simmered in the area despite repeated peace appeals from both sides.

PTI