GUWAHATI, INDIA: Five Muslims were murdered in northeast India by an armed gang from the ethnic Bodo community in fresh violence, after more than a month of clashes, police said Sunday.
"A group of seven Muslim villagers in two vehicles were returning home from a relief camp when they came under attack," said Sanjit Krishna, police chief of the western Chirang district, in Assam state.
Five were found dead near Choudhurypara village, about 220km from Assam's main city of Guwahati, while police are trying to trace the other two.
The party had apparently been trying to reach their village after a few days of calm in the area and had dared to venture out on Saturday from their guarded government relief camp.
An estimated 90 people have died and 400,000 people from both communities are taking refuge in camps spread across four western Assamese districts of Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Baksa.
In a separate incident early on Sunday, four Muslim villagers were wounded in an attack by tribal Bodos in Kokrajhar.
The wave of violence, a recurrence of problems that have plagued the volatile region for decades, has had far-reaching consequences in India.
Rumours that migrants from the northeast, who travel widely in India to study or work, would be attacked by Muslims in retaliation for the violence in Assam saw tens of thousands flee southern cities such as Bangalore.
The government has since unveiled wide-ranging efforts to counter Internet content seen as fanning the panic, with orders given to block hundreds of websites and webpages.
The orders even covered material found on the websites of reputed media organisations such as Australia's ABC network or London's The Daily Telegraph, leading to allegations of censorship.
The government also ordered the blocking of half a dozen fake Twitter accounts mimicking the prime minister and targeted two journalists.
COMMENTS (31)
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@nomi Extreme religious discrimination in India.. ?? Are you kidding me!!! India wouldn't survive a day with religious or social discrimination.!! There is religious and ethnic diversity at every nook and corner of India.. there is diversity in each and every city of India. By the way there are over 650 cities in India. If there was discrimination ..then India would've imploded thousands of years ago.. You give me 5 examples of religious discrimination.. I'll give you 5000 examples where we Indians have stood united . let me give you an example of our secularism.. after 2004 election we had a Muslim President, a Sikh Prime minister, a Catholic party president. Ruling a country of 84% Hindu. Can this ever happen in Pakistan?? Your law says that the president and prime minister must b a Muslim.. so think twice b4 questioning India's secularism record
Dear Editor, please care to mention that illegal Bangladeshis were killed by Bodo tribals. Why mentioning their religion ? Are they Indians ? Why are they staying in relief camps ? Why not go back to their own Islamic nation where they can lead an Islamic way of life ? Why coming to Hindu majority area ?
When they come in India, you say illegal immigrants and when they are killed you say Muslims. Great !
Fortunately or unfortunately, this is required to drive out illegal Bangladeshis from India.
ProudIndianMuslim
Pakistan is in a mess and it should be accepted but like I say, indians are least qualified to point a finger on Pakistan unless indians openly accept that they have extreme religious discrimination in their own country.
Pakistan bashing is your only defence when someone questions India's secular credentials.
Again Pakistan is treading a dangerous path, but you should have the "AUDACITY" to admit that India also has a plethora of problems.
"These killings are highly condemned" Today in Guwahati the capital city of Assam a rally was organized by students to condemn such acts of violence. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists Participated in the rally. Shame on you to paint an entire nation of 1.23 billion people as non tolerant. Looking at the dire condition of Pakistan today.. How come you have the audacity to speak against a secular country like India.
its fight between Indians and bengladeshi illegal migrants who left India long ago because 'they cannot live in India'
We want evidence, like we were asked during Mumbai attacks.
Take India's religious, racial and poverty/crime problems and divide them by 10 - we still won't get Pakistan's numbers.
Dear Indians, everyone has these problems. When you start following U.S. evangelists and throw dirt on neighbours, remember we have to live in this neighbourhood.
Dear Tribune, hope you give it the same coverage and follow up as you do for an Ahmadi's door paint..
@amalgam: Why? It hearts to know reality!!
And who did the SMSs for this one you hateful people of India!!
@Prabhat Pal: They are always dark since day one & will be dark forever!!!
@Pan-economic?: and this is coming from pakistan where daily muslims blow other muslims?
check whether they are Indians or not
@Omar Minorities ?? Bangladeshi immigrants are not minority, they are 40% of the population in that region
Ok, in India people from opposite religions are killing each other but when compared to the killings happening in other countries, the killings are very less. Take this fact, compared to India, Pakistan is small in size as well as in population but in this country, muslims are butchering muslims that too thousands each year. This is called genocide, is it not a disgrace that muslims are killing muslims that too in an Islamic nation. that itself is so pathetic. in the news site dawn, the pakistani online news site, on 5 June 2012 online edition, it is given as 740 people murdered in Karachi alone in 5 months of 2012. A total of 1,715 were butchered in 2011 in Karachi alone and if we take the whole of Pakistan in whcih people lost their life due to voilence. it is sickening.
Murder! Stop justifying it Indians!!!! . We have soooo many illegal Indians here in the west. We are civilised. We'll punish the criminals only and never justify if anyone murders them!
Talking about minorities?? India talking about mistretament of minorites in Pakistan??
Don't mess in Baluchistan dear Indians. First put your house at order. And your interior minister did not waste a minute to put blame on Pakistani Blogs for spreading panic. Why you people are so obsessed with Pakistan.
Sensible reporting is what is lacking. Instead of 5 muslims being killed it should read as 5 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants were killed. Using Musilim to describe those killed only leads to a sense of communalism. This clash is not about religion it is about indegenious versus settlers
wonder if any Pakistani media reported about the uyghurs riots in China
ever?
Shameful and disgusting. Dark period for ethnic and communal harmony in India.
How many were killed in Karachi yesterday?
Killings of ANY religion is just that - plain and simple murder. Unacceptable and inherently animalistic!
Before denouncing India or Hindus, Pls remember that BOTH Muslims and Bodos are formally defined minorities in India. In fact more Bodo people are Christain or follow their specific belief (much different then any known religion), then Hindus.
From Pakistani perspective, this is like Christians and Kalash people's riots.
Sad that Tribune or AFP or Police didn't announce from rooftops that the 6 people who died while being thrown off the running train, returning to Assam last week were Hindus or Bodos or Christian. But when Muslims are killed...
Classic double standards of Congress rule and Global media!
Where are these indians championing themselves are secularists and most tolerant species on earth. They come here and give us lecture on dealing with minority but fails to look at them selves.
From Kashmir to Assam, There are struggles of separation everywhere. Orissa, Golden Temple, Bihar Assam, Kashmir are just places to show true face of india
This is what they call " Religious Tolerant Country " (----Shame----)
@Arijit Sharma: Guilty conscious?
Ferocious face of biggest democracy and secularism.
Inhumane and undemocratic, what a disturbing fragmented society these Indians live in.
No need to get hot under the collar. Check out the days tally for Syria and Iraq for the number of Muslims killed by other Muslims.