The fear of being targeted on communal lines in the wake of the recent Assam riots has led to an exodus of over 15,000 people from Assam working in Bangalore.
There was chaos at Bangalore railway station on Wednesday with thousands of people crowding platforms to catch the Guwahati Express. DNA has learnt that 10,000 tickets for the train have been sold and two special Guwahati-bound trains have been added. AK Nath, who hails from Assam’s Nagaon district and works as a security guard in Bangalore, said: “We do not want seats; only little space. We just want to reach Guwahati as early as possible.”
The Assam police confirmed that people from the region were fleeing other states following apprehensions caused by rumours about possible attacks on them because of the recent riots in Assam.
“There have been some isolated incidents (of attacks) in Pune, Bangalore etc. Then we had the Mumbai incident (riots during a protest against the Assam violence). So people from the region, who are either working or pursuing studies in states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka etc, are now apprehensive and fleeing,” Assam’s director general of police, JN Choudhury, told DNA.
He said worried family members also did not want them to stay away from home now. “Family members are frequently calling them, asking them to return home. There are also rumours that they will be attacked after Ramzan. All this is contributing to their apprehension,” Choudhury said.
Karnataka DG & IG of police, Lalrokhuma Pachau, said: “We assure full security to all.”
Hundreds of people from the Northeast have returned home. Eleven youth from Assam’s Dhemaji district who returned from Kerala said they were subjected to threats by members of an Islamic organisation. They said their friends working in South India were also leaving after being intimidated.
In Hyderabad, seven Assamese youth said they were threatened by Muslim youth and asked to leave the state before Ramzan. They have returned to Majuli, Assam’s river island.
Edited By Cen Fox Post Team
