Mizoram police have booked criminal cases against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, four senior officers of the Assam police and two more officials over the violent clash that took place on the outskirts of Vairengte town in Mizoram’s Kolasib district, police said on Friday.

They have been booked under various charges, including attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy, Mizoram Inspector General of Police (Headquarter) John Neihlaia told PTI.

The FIR was lodged by the state police at the Vairengte police station late Monday after a gun fight between the Mizoram and the Assam police forces near the border town, Neihlaia said.

The four senior Assam Police officers named in the FIR are Inspector General of Police (IGP) Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Cachar Devojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar Superintendent of Police Cahndrakant Nimbalkar, and officer in-charge of Dholai police station, Sahab Uddin, Neihlaia said.

Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and Cachar Divisional Forest Officer Sunnydeo Chaudhary have also been booked under the same charges, he said.

Besides, cases were also registered against 200 unidentified Assam Police personnel, Neihlaia said.

The four police officers and the two administrative officials have been summoned for questioning on Sunday, he added.

The recent violence has brought into spotlight the long-standing border
issues in the Northeast, particularly between Assam and the states that were
carved out of it.

The current episode of the violence started in October last year when a
clash took place between residents of Karimganj in Assam and Mamit in Mizoram
districts. Mizoram officials claimed that the land being claimed by Assam has
been cultivated by residents of Mizoram for a long time.

A few days later, clashes took place between residents of Lailapur village
in Assam’s Cachar district and residents of localities near Vairengte in
Mizoram’s Kolasib district.

In the Cachar incident, some people from Lailapur allegedly threw stones at
Mizoram police personnel. In turn, Mizoram residents mobilised and attacked
them.