Tension flared up along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border following allegations of encroachment of land in Dhemaji by people from the neighbouring state, police said on Tuesday.
Barely days after the chief ministers of the two states signed an agreement to resolve border disputes between the two states, people from Dhemaji alleged that some people from Arunachal Pradesh had encroached on reserved forest land at Panbari with the intention of setting up an agricultural farm.
The encroachers had allegedly fenced the area which was opposed by people on the Assam side and they removed it.
Subsequently, some miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh attacked an Assamese family and forcibly took away their motorcycle on Monday evening.
Police from Bordoloni police outpost of Dhemaji rushed to the spot.
Discussions between the officials of both the states were also held and the situation was brought under control.
A strict vigil is being maintained along the border amid tight security to prevent the outbreak of further clashes.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal counterpart Pema Khandu had signed the Namsai Declaration on July 15 wherein they had pledged to resolve the border disputes between the two states.
The two states had decided to restrict the ‘disputed villages’ to 86 instead of the previous 123, and will try to resolve the issues by September 15.
The two states share an 804.1 km-long border. The grievance of Arunachal Pradesh which was made a union territory in 1972 is that several forested tracts in the plains that had traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities were unilaterally transferred to Assam.
After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee was appointed which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal. Assam contested this and the matter is in the Supreme Court.
