At least five persons have been killed and thousands displaced in the ethnic violence in the border areas of Assam and Meghalaya.
Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma on Friday said that he would appeal to the Centre to initiate a probe into the ethnic flare-up in the state and asserted that the Assam government should have "done more" to ensure the security of people.
"The intension is proper justice. If there is any deficiency anywhere, the truth should come out. It is important to find out how the strife of such magnitude erupted. Such incidents should be prevented in future," he said before leaving for Delhi.
Sangma said he would appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram for instituting a commission of inquiry into the ethnic flare-up in the state.
Concerns were expressed in Meghalaya as the administration in Assam did not deploy adequate forces to deter trouble-mongers and ensure security of the people, he said.
"I have spoken to Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi more than once since the violence erupted. I have shared all the inputs and underlined the need to ensure precaution by deploying more security forces and magistrates in the troubled areas.
"A lot of incidents were reported from the Assam side... visible presence of security forces was not there. The Assam government should have done more," the chief minister said.
He said it was because of the incidents in Assam that people on the Meghalaya side were agitated and tension had built up.
Maintaining that wounds left by such strife took a long time to heal, Sangma said he told the chief secretary to speak to his Assam counterpart for a joint visit to the affected areas to assess the ground situation.
"Not many incidents have been reported from the areas since last night except for some houses being torched along the border in Mendipathar. The situation as of now is tense, but under control and the government is constantly monitoring the situation," he said.
Tension was also reported from other areas where the communities co-existed and the administration has been asked to take precautions, Sangma said.
According to him some 10,000 people have been displaced on the Meghalaya side since the violence erupted on January 1, and the number could be more on the Assam side.
"The situation today will determine the next course of action," he said, when asked about the deployment of more forces and extension of curfew.
At least five persons have been killed and thousands displaced in the ethnic violence in the border areas of Assam and Meghalaya.
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