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Nagaon: Incidents of violence rocked Assam's Samaguri assembly constituency where by-elections will be held on November 13 with both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress alleging that gunshots were fired targeting each other's supporters over the last 24 hours, police said on Sunday.
It was also alleged that three journalists who went to cover the violence, which happened on Saturday, were manhandled by Congress supporters.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Congress for "resorting to violence under cover of darkness" to intimidate BJP workers, stating that no one would be allowed to sabotage or undermine the democratic process.
"We got reports that an incident of firing took place at Mari Puthikhaiti village in Samaguri. BJP workers alleged that a shot was fired from the house of one Congress worker aiming at ruling party MLA Jitu Goswami's vehicle," a police officer said.
In the vehicle, Goswami and BJP leader Suresh Bora were travelling, although no one had been injured in the firing, he said.
"On the other hand, Congress workers alleged that the party's former anchalik panchayat member Ismail Hussain's son Imam Uddin was shot at by BJP workers, injuring him in the leg," the officer said.
The injured victim, Uddin, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, he said, adding that the claims and counter-claims are being verified.
Over the night, at least half a dozen vehicles were smashed by supporters of the ruling and opposition parties at several places in the constituency when they clashed with each other, police said.
For the upcoming bypoll, the Congress has named Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain's son Tanzil as the party's candidate against Diplu Ranjan Sarma of BJP.
In a post on X, the chief minister said, "I strongly condemn the attack on Hon'ble MLA Shri Jitu Goswami in Samaguri by @INCAssam supporters. This is the same Congress that proudly holds up the Constitution for the cameras, yet resorts to violence under cover of darkness to intimidate our karyakartas." Questioning why the Congress has "stooped to such depths" in this by-election, he said that it was not just fear of defeat but the "desperation" to hold on to their core vote bank that drives them to such extremes.
"Justice will be served, and we will not allow anyone to sabotage or undermine our democratic process," the CM said.
Slamming the Congress, MLA Goswami demanded immediate punitive action against the attackers, "led by MP Rakibul to terrorise the voters".
The BJP candidate said, "I strongly condemn the incident of firing. Rakibul Hussain gave a very provocative speech last night, following which the shooting took place. We are now going to complain to the Election Commission, demanding urgent steps." He also condemned the alleged attack on the journalists and said freedom of the press is paramount in a democracy.
On Sunday, journalists held a sit-in protest at Samaguri against the attack and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.
Hussain, who has been campaigning aggressively for his son's first electoral battle, reached the scene of violence and condemned the BJP's alleged "barbaric" attack on Congress workers.
"I immediately informed Nagaon SP Swapnanil Deka and other local police officers, urging them to take action. However, Deka and others blamed Congress workers instead of carrying out an impartial investigation in front of the reporters," he said.
Incidents of violence have been reported almost on a daily basis in Samaguri since the bypoll was announced.
Already, a number of complaints have been filed by both the BJP and Congress before the Election Commission.
The BJP is making an all-out effort to snatch the seat in the demographically sensitive Nagaon district, while Congress is in no mood to leave its stronghold under any circumstances.
Hussain, who won the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat this year by a record margin of over 10.12 lakh votes, was an MLA from Samaguri for five consecutive terms before becoming a parliamentarian.
Bypoll will take place in Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri assembly constituencies as these seats fell vacant with their MLAs winning the Lok Sabha elections.
The polling for the by-elections will take place on November 13 and the votes will be counted on November 23.