DIBRUGARH, Feb 13: Tea garden workers and various organisations held protests at Digboi in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Friday, demanding justice for a youth who was killed by a mob, officials said.
Markets and shops were closed, while National Highway 38 was blocked by protesters for hours, affecting traffic movement, they said.
The deceased, 26-year-old Buddheswar Garh, was a sanitation worker and belonged to the Adivasi tea community. A group of fish traders allegedly assaulted him on Thursday, accusing him of stealing fish from Digboi Chariali Bazar on Thursday.
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Garh, a resident of Line No 10 of Bogapani Tea Estate, succumbed to his injuries at the Digboi Civil Hospital the same day, following which tension gripped the entire oil town.
Garh’s death sparked widespread outrage among the tea garden community and Adivasi groups.
Organisations like the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association, All Assam Adivasi Students’ Union and Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha staged a massive protest in Digboi on Friday.
All markets, shops and business establishments were closed in Digboy since Thursday, and the protestors also blocked the National Highway-38.
His body remained at Digboi Community Health Centre (CHC) for several hours as the protestors staged a sit-in inside the premises.
The protesters initially obstructed efforts to shift the body to Tinsukia Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination, demanding strict legal action and firm assurances from the administration. They relented following assurances from the authorities, police said.
Five people have so far been arrested in this connection, Tinsukia Senior Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar said.
They are Sher Khan, Ramjan Khan, Bikram Sahani, Ajim Ali and Sonu Bhattacharjee. (PTI)
