Unknown miscreants torch 93 houses in Niuland

Unidentified miscreants, believed to be around 100 in number, torched 93 houses at Jalal Basti, under Aghunaqa area, Niuland district Thursday night.
Nguvihe village head GB, N. Khatoi Achumi, told Nagaland Post that out of 105 households at Jalal Basti, 93 houses were set ablaze by unknown miscreants. Achumi, however, maintained that he had no knowledge of who was behind the arson.
Highlighting the background of the settlement, Achumi explained that Jalal Basti fell under Nguvihe village jurisdiction. He said that settlement of non-Nagas began in 1984 when a person named Jalal, with the backing of the Assam government, entered the area with the request for farming.
The village head GB, however, said by 1987 Jalal allegedly laid claim over the land with support from Assam government agencies, leading to a long-standing dispute.
Further, Achumi stated that despite repeated appeals to the Nagaland government to intervene into the matter, no action was taken.
Further, he said that following recent eviction drives carried out by Assam government authorities at Gilajan and Raja Pukhuri, many of the displaced persons had moved into Jalal Basti.
Achumi also maintained that Nguvihe village council had issued multiple orders to prevent the settlement of the evicted residents in the area, but were ignored.
He said that before the eviction, the village had around 30-40 households, but after the eviction, the household number increased to 105.
Meanwhile, following Thursday’s arson, district officials led by the deputy commissioners of both Niuland and Golaghat, police forces from both states, and CRPF personnel rushed to the spot to assess the situation.