Roads in Lapangap village, located in Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district, remained empty on Friday as residents stayed indoors due to heavy rain. This quiet followed a violent clash with villagers from Assam’s Karbi Anglong district that resulted in one fatality. The headman of Lapangap, Deimonmi Lyngdoh, insisted that the local residents bore no responsibility for the death of the Karbi individual, asserting that they had retreated to their homes after being attacked.
Following the unrest, a senior district official reported the deployment of additional security forces to prevent further violence. The tension has been escalating along the inter-state border due to disputes over paddy harvesting, with both sides asserting claims to the contested land. According to the official, a police camp has been established on a hillock opposite Tapat village, where approximately 25 officers from the Meghalaya Police are stationed.
Since a prior clash in June, around 30 police personnel were already present in Lapangap, with another group of 25 arriving on Thursday, followed by an additional 25-30 in full riot gear on Friday. This latest outbreak of violence occurred when a group from Meghalaya began harvesting paddy, an action opposed by villagers from the Assam side.
Clashes erupted on Thursday afternoon between residents of Lapangap and those from Tapat village in Assam, leading to the death of a member of the Karbi community. Lyngdoh stated that he was unaware of the Karbi man’s death until later. 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.”
The villagers began harvesting around 9 AM on Thursday after receiving permission from the district administration, as crops belonging to about 42 families were overripe. “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,” he continued. Lyngdoh indicated that they learned later that the Karbi men had outnumbered the Assam police, who were attempting to prevent the assault on Lapangap villagers.
According to him, a melee ensued between the Karbi men and police forces, and he maintained that the people of Lapangap had no part in the Karbi man’s death, discovering the news only upon returning to their village. He alleged that Karbi individuals from Tapat and surrounding areas participated in the attack. The clash prompted Meghalaya Police to deploy tear gas to disperse the mob, leading to a night curfew in the area.
Previously, villagers had experienced no issues planting rice in March and April, but tensions flared again in June after Lapangap residents uprooted saplings planted by Karbi people near the fields, claiming the land was theirs. Since then, reports indicate around 30-35 huts near the paddy fields were burned by Karbi residents, leaving the peace in the area tenuous.
“The villagers are now waiting for the district authorities to assist them in completing the harvest since a night curfew is in place,” Lyngdoh said. Earlier incidents also resulted in violent confrontations between Lapangap villagers and residents of Karbi-inhabited areas, prompting both Assam and Meghalaya police to strengthen security along the inter-state border.
Lyngdoh furthermore claimed that Karbi settlers from Tapat village originally lived in Lapangap but were later given land on a hillock to settle down. “Instead of being grateful, residents of Tapat, influenced by outside forces, turned against us,” he stated. Despite ongoing peace appeals from both sides, tensions in the region continue to simmer.
