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(Reuters) - Suspected tribal rebels shot
dead 11 Muslims, including two women,
in attacks in tea-growing Assam where
tension has run high during an election,
officials said on Friday.
Police said they suspected the militants
behind the overnight killings were
members of the Bodo tribe.
"The gunmen entered the house and shot
them dead on the spot," a senior police
officer in Guwahati with knowledge of
the investigation told Reuters.
He was referring to an incident in which
the militants shot dead three members of
a family, including two women, while
wounding a baby. In a second attack,
eight people were killed by a group of
guerrillas.
Bodo people have frequently clashed
with Muslims they say have illegally
entered from neighbouring Bangladesh
and encroached on their ancestral lands
near the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
Candidates in India's general election,
including opposition front runner
Narendra Modi, have contributed to
anti-Bangladeshi feeling in Assam.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist, last week said
immigrants from Bangladesh in a
nearby state should have their "bags
packed" in case he came to power. He
accuses the state government of being
soft on immigration.
Voting was held over several days in
Assam to help security forces handle any
violence from several separatist and
tribal militant groups active in the state.
Polling in the Bodo region ended on
April 24, in what residents say was a
tight race between a Bodo and a non-
tribal candidate.
Election results are due on May 16.
Police reinforcements were sent to the
two districts where the attacks took
place, which have a history of sectarian
violence. Dozens of police in military
style uniforms and armed with
automatic rifles patrolled the area,
television pictures showed.
"The authorities will take firm action
against those involved in this crime,"
said state government spokesman
Nilamoni Sen Deka.
Two years ago, dozens of people were
killed in clashes between Bodo people
and Muslim settlers in the same area and
about 400,000 people fled from their
villages. The state government, led by the
ruling Congress party, was criticized for
not acting quickly enough to stop rioting.
The riots stoked tension nationally,
triggering sometimes violent protests by
Muslims in cities across India. About
30,000 migrants from the northeast
temporarily returned home after threats
of reprisals by Muslims circulated by text
message.
dead 11 Muslims, including two women,
in attacks in tea-growing Assam where
tension has run high during an election,
officials said on Friday.
Police said they suspected the militants
behind the overnight killings were
members of the Bodo tribe.
"The gunmen entered the house and shot
them dead on the spot," a senior police
officer in Guwahati with knowledge of
the investigation told Reuters.
He was referring to an incident in which
the militants shot dead three members of
a family, including two women, while
wounding a baby. In a second attack,
eight people were killed by a group of
guerrillas.
Bodo people have frequently clashed
with Muslims they say have illegally
entered from neighbouring Bangladesh
and encroached on their ancestral lands
near the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
Candidates in India's general election,
including opposition front runner
Narendra Modi, have contributed to
anti-Bangladeshi feeling in Assam.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist, last week said
immigrants from Bangladesh in a
nearby state should have their "bags
packed" in case he came to power. He
accuses the state government of being
soft on immigration.
Voting was held over several days in
Assam to help security forces handle any
violence from several separatist and
tribal militant groups active in the state.
Polling in the Bodo region ended on
April 24, in what residents say was a
tight race between a Bodo and a non-
tribal candidate.
Election results are due on May 16.
Police reinforcements were sent to the
two districts where the attacks took
place, which have a history of sectarian
violence. Dozens of police in military
style uniforms and armed with
automatic rifles patrolled the area,
television pictures showed.
"The authorities will take firm action
against those involved in this crime,"
said state government spokesman
Nilamoni Sen Deka.
Two years ago, dozens of people were
killed in clashes between Bodo people
and Muslim settlers in the same area and
about 400,000 people fled from their
villages. The state government, led by the
ruling Congress party, was criticized for
not acting quickly enough to stop rioting.
The riots stoked tension nationally,
triggering sometimes violent protests by
Muslims in cities across India. About
30,000 migrants from the northeast
temporarily returned home after threats
of reprisals by Muslims circulated by text
message.
