A day after the violent attack on the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Secretariat, authorities have tightened security around the complex, completely barring public entry in an effort to prevent further unrest. Repair and restoration work began on Sunday as officials assessed the damage caused during Saturday’s unprecedented protest. BTC authorities have indicated that legal action will be taken against those responsible.
The confrontation unfolded on November 29, a day before the BTC budget session was scheduled to begin, when thousands of agitated Bodo students marched from Bodoland University at Rangalikhata, Debargaon, to the BTC Secretariat in Bodofa Nagar. The demonstrators were protesting the Assam Government’s move to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities, accusing the state of jeopardising the rights and political safeguards of existing tribal groups.
The massive rally, dominated by student organisations, advanced through Dewargaon and JD Road, resonating with sharp slogans directed at BTR Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, former CEM Hagrama Mohilary, Deputy CEM Gobinda Basumatary, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, and MLA Rongjagot Narzary. Protesters shouted “Hagrama Mohilary go back,” “Pramod Boro go back,” “Cancel ST status for six communities,” and “We want justice,” as tensions heightened across the town.
The situation escalated when enraged demonstrators forced their way through the main entrance of the Secretariat and surged into the compound. Despite the presence of commandos and Assam Police personnel, security forces were unable to contain the crowd as the protest intensified. More students poured in, turning the Secretariat’s surroundings into a massive protest zone where sit-ins, slogan-chanting, and demands for the immediate withdrawal of the government’s ST proposal continued for hours.
By late evening, Kokrajhar remained tense, with a heavy police deployment across sensitive locations. Neither the BTC administration nor the state government had issued a formal response to the rapidly spiralling agitation, even as security personnel maintained strict vigilance around the Secretariat to prevent further disturbances.
