GROUND ZERO: They left, thinking I was dead, says Survivor of Tinsukia shooting

"They thought I was no more and left, believing I was dead. A bullet had brushed past my jacket but left me whole. I will never forget what happened on Thursday evening. I still don't believe I am standing here." Sahadeb Namasudra, the only survivor among the six people who were targeted by gunmen in Tinsukia disctrict's Bishnoimukh Kherabari village, was incredulous at being alive.

"It was around 7 pm and we were chatting at a chai shop when a couple of people in what I thought was army fatigues called out to us. They said it was something urgent they wanted to tell us. So we got out and crossed a culvert to go to where they were calling us. Once we did, they made us sit down, and suddenly, more people in fatigues showed up and opened indiscriminate fire. Everyone fell down. A bullet grazed my jacket and I tried to bolt, but fell into a ditch. I lost consciousness. They thought I was dead and ran away."

As Sahadeb recalled the horrific episode, tears rolled down his cheeks, the recollection left him shaken.

As this correspondent reached ground zero, villagers in Kherabari, about 6 km from Dhola-Sadiya bridge, the state's longest, approached us to relate their experience of the nightmare. They told us that while firing was still underway, some locals tried to call up the police at the nearest police post, some 500 metres from the place of the incident. But the cops had switched off their phones, they claimed.

Sahadeb made the same allegation. He said his family members tried ringing the police chowky's numbers, but nobody answered or showed up. Later, some cops came from 6 km afar.

Remarkably, this correspondent found that the scene of firing had not been cordoned off. Contamination of the crime scene would scotch forensic investigations.

At one of the victims' house, five bodies were lined up one after the other since Thursday night. Santana Das, the wife of Subal Das, still believed he had only just gone to the tea shop and would return shortly. Half the village was traumatised, the other half tense with fear.

The Dhola-Sadiya bridge, officially called the Dr Bhupen Hazarika bridge, which was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was blocked for several hours. A bandh called by the All-Assam Bengali Federation was in force across Tinsukia and surrounding areas. Shops remained shuttered and in various areas, and the public took to the roads, raising slogans and burning tyres.

The secretary of a community grouping in Tinsukhia, without wanting to be named, said, "We are unsafe. Tomorrow, we might call for a 24-hour statewide bandh."

But the Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia insisted the villagers were safe. "This was a stray incident and we condemn it. The culprits will be caught. We will book the officers who have not done their job. We appeal to everybody to maintain order. We will beef up security in Tinsukia."

Police, who have launched a massive combing operation to nab the culprits, suspect the gunmen belonged to the United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) faction as they were dressed in battle fatigue, but the outfit has denied its involvement in the attack.

Two ULFA leaders, Mrinal Hazarika and Jatin Dutta, were arrested on Thursday for provocative speeches. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has appealed for peace, and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased and a government job for a family member. Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.

A team of state ministers along with the DGP arrived to meet with the people and officials from the administration. Minister of State for Power Tapan Gogoi urged political leaders to refrain from making provocative statements about the incident.