4 killed in violence over timber smuggling at Assam-Meghalaya border
Guwahati (PTI): Four people, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at the Assam-Meghalaya border after the police intercepted a truck transporting illegal timber in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.
The truck was intercepted at the Meghalaya border by an Assam Forest Department team around 3 am, West Karbi Anglong's Superintendent of Police Imdad Ali told PTI.
As the truck tried to flee, the forest guards fired at it and punctured a tyre. The driver, handyman and another person were apprehended, while others managed to escape, he said.
The forest guards informed the Zirikending police station about the incident, and asked for reinforcements, he added.
As police reached, a huge number of people from Meghalaya armed with 'dao' (dagger) and other weapons gathered at the spot around 5 am, the officer said.
As the mob gheraoed the forest guards and the police demanding the immediate release of those arrested, the officers fired at them to bring the situation under control, he said.
"A forest home guard and three persons of the Khasi community were killed in the incident. The situation is under control now," the officer said.
However, it was not immediately clear how the forest guard, identified as Bidyasing Lekhte, was killed.
Ali said top officers of the district were on the way to the remote area.
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'All is good, we are on same page': Shashi Tharoor after meeting Kharge, Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for redressal of his grievances, after which he said "all is good" and "we are all on the same page", signalling a rapprochement with his party ahead of the crucial Kerala Assembly polls.
The meeting in Kharge's chamber in the Parliament House complex lasted for over an hour and forty-five minutes.
"We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion," Tharoor said.
"All is good and we are moving together on the same page. What more can I say," he told reporters in Parliament premises after the meeting.
Asked if the issue of chief ministerial face for Kerala polls was discussed, Tharoor said that was never the issue.
"I am not interested in being the candidate for anything. At the moment I am already an MP, I have the trust of my voters from Thiruvananthapuram. I have their interest to look after in Parliament, that is my job," he said.
Tharoor said he was very satisfied with his meeting with the top Congress brass.
In a post on X, Tharoor said, "Thanks to @INCIndia President @kharge ji and LS LoP @RahulGandhi ji for a warm and constructive discussion today on a wide range of subjects. We are all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India."
He also posted a picture from the meeting in which the three of them are seen smiling and posing for a picture at Kharge's chamber in Parliament House complex.
Sources said it was a "comprehensive" meeting during which a wide array of subjects were covered.
Kharge and Gandhi made "the time necessary for a thorough discussion", a source close to Tharoor said, adding that all were on the "same page" and resolved to move forward together.
Tharoor had been upset over the treatment meted out to him at a Kochi event recently and attempts by some leaders to sideline him in Kerala.
Congress sources said the "proof of the pudding will be in the eating" and the next few weeks will demonstrate how well everything works in practice.
The meeting comes ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls which are very crucial for the Congress as it seeks to wrest power from the Left after 10 years in the opposition and is going all out to secure a victory in the southern state.
Last week, Tharoor had skipped a key strategy meeting of the party for the upcoming Kerala polls as he was believed to be upset over Rahul Gandhi not properly acknowledging his presence at a recent event and repeated attempts by state leaders to "sideline" him.
Sources close to him had then said that while a series of events had led to Tharoor's disappointment with the treatment meted out to him, the tipping point was Gandhi not acknowledging him at the 'Maha Panchayath' held in Kochi on January 19 to felicitate the local body poll winners.
Gandhi had acknowledged other senior leaders present on the stage and took their names but did not mention Tharoor, a four-time MP and one of the three Congress Working Committee (CWC) members from the state, who was also on the dais, the sources said.
A row had erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack. His comments were at variance with the Congress' stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.
Tharoor has, however, maintained that there is no variance in stance on foreign policy and there must be bipartisanship.
Kharge on Friday chaired a key meeting of the party here with Kerala leaders to fine-tune the party strategy for the assembly polls.
