Assam man dies in Mizoram, Sonowal seeks Shah’s intervention

Aizawl/Silchar (Assam), Nov 2 : In a new turn to the ongoing Assam-Mizoram border trouble, a 48-year-old man from Assam died in custody in Mizoram on Monday, leading to protests along the inter-state border intensifying.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who on Monday sent an urgent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of the situation, asked Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua and Director General of Police Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta to rush to southern Assam to deal with the situation.
He also announced Rs five lakh compensation to the family of Intyaz Ali, who died in custody in northern Mizoram’s Kolasib district.
Mizoram Home Secretary Lalbiaksangi, in a letter to her Assam counterpart, said that Ali, a resident of southern Assam’s Lailapur, was detained in the state’s Kolasib district on Sunday with drugs and he was referred to a health centre for a checkup but was found dead on Monday.
Police officials in Assam’s Cachar district said that after the news of Ali’s death came, hundreds of agitated people gathered along the border to protest.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Southern Assam Range, Dilip Kumar Dey told the media that Ali’s brother informed the police on Sunday that Ali went to jungle to collect firewood and the Mizoram Police detained him.