Assault of girl triggers Assamese-‘outsiders’ row, Marwari business persons made to kneel on stage, apologise in minister’s presence

Guwahati: The assault of a female arm wrestler in Assam’s Sivasagar district on August 16 triggered an Assamese vs ‘outsiders’ row, resulting in a public apology by a group of Marwari business persons on Wednesday in the presence of state Cabinet Minister Ranoj Pegu.

As the report about the assault of the Assamese girl allegedly by a ‘non-Assamese’ person spread, at least 30 Assamese nationalist organisations staged protests and even forced the ‘non-Assamese’ traders to shut their shops and business establishments in Sivasagar. Two persons belonging to the Marwari community were arrested in connection with the case. Following the arrests, the organisations demanded a public apology from the Marwari community of Sivasagar.

The situation became tense when Gauravv Somani, a BJP leader belonging to the Marwari community in Guwahati, lodged an FIR at a Dispur police station against Sringkhal Chaliha, a leader of Lachit Sena, one of the nationalist organisations, who openly threatened the ‘non-Assamese’ communities.

Following this, Ulfa-Independent, a banned insurgent group, issued a statement on Monday asking the BJP leader to withdraw his FIR. On Wednesday, Somani withdrew his FIR as demanded by Ulfa-I. Sivasagar is believed to a stronghold of Ulfa-I, which claimed to have planted bombs at 24 places during the Independence Day celebrations. Ulfa-I also issued a threat to ‘non-Assamese’ communities if the FIR was not withdrawn.

The 30 organisations demanded public apology by the Marwari community, reservation of 80 per cent jobs for Assamese persons in business establishments in Sivasagar, naming the business establishments in Assmaese language, and compensation for the victim.

As the tensions grew, Assam cabinet Minister, Ranoj Pegu rushed to Sivasagar. On Tuesday, a group of Marwari persons knelt on a stage and sought apology publicly as per the demands. Apart from Pegu, deputy commissioner, Superintendent of Police, representatives of the nationalist organisations, local mediapersons, attended the event beside others. The Marwari community of Sivasagar also announced compensation of Rs. 2 lakh for the victim girl.

Sivasagar is an Assamese-dominated district but there is a sizeable population of Marwaris, Hindi speaking persons, and Bengalis.

After the meeting, Pegu said he attended the event as per directive of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Attended a significant meeting concerning the unfortunate incident at Babupatti, Sivasagar, alongside representatives from 30 organizations, as per the directive of our honourable Chief Minister.

I expressed deep grief over the incident and empathized with the sentiments of the… pic.twitter.com/y5UGZ38Qzc

— Ranoj Pegu (@ranojpeguassam) August 20, 2024

“I expressed deep grief over the incident and empathized with the sentiments of the local community. The sincere apology and expression of regret by the leaders of the Marwari community were commendable steps toward resolving the matter amicably. It is imperative that we remain vigilant in maintaining law and order in Sivasagar, a district where people have lived harmoniously for generations,” Pegu posted on X.

Pegu belongs to Mising community and is the “guardian minister” of Sivasagar.

Published 21 August 2024, 07:07 IST

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