Assam’s Karbi Anglong District Magistrate, in a vital effort to restore peace, has enforced prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS Act (Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita). This measure is in response to escalating unrest in Diphu, the administrative centre of Karbi Anglong district, where protests against the eviction of illegal settlers have turned violent.
The protests intensified when demonstrators, led by the Karbi Students Association and other organisations, attempted to breach the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council or KAAC headquarters. Their demands focused on the immediate removal of unauthorised settlers from the Professional Grazing Reserved-PGR and Village Grazing Reserved-VGR lands.
Initially peaceful, the demonstration quickly escalated, leading police to use blank firing and lathi charges to disperse the crowd. The prohibitory orders come after a day of significant unrest, with hundreds of protesters congregating at the KAAC headquarters, making the situation in Diphu highly volatile.
The Karbi Anglong DM cited the necessity of maintaining law and order as the primary reason for the prohibitory orders, highlighting the district administration’s commitment to restoring peace and security amid ongoing tensions.
