Guwahati (The Hawk): Officials reported that at least four persons, including a forest guard, were killed on Tuesday in a police shooting that occurred after a fight broke out in a village in Assam's West Karbi Anglong district close to the Meghalayan border.
According to reports, the tragedy also harmed a number of other villagers.
Imdad Ali, the West Karbi Anglong district's superintendent of police, reported that at around three in the morning, representatives from the forest department stopped a truck carrying illicit wood from the district's most isolated Mukro hamlet.
The truck sped up as it tried to elude the forest guards as they approached to seize the unlawful cargo.
The guards started firing and punched the car's tyre. Others were able to escape the scene, but only three persons were caught, including the vehicle's driver and handyman.
The forest officials subsequently made a request for more police officers at the nearby police station in Zirikending.
The police said that when a squad arrived there, a sizable group of people from Meghalaya "gheraoed" them with sharp objects.
The enraged mob demanded the release of individuals who had been detained. To disperse the hostile mob, the police squad had to start shooting. The officer said, "Three Khasi community members and a forest home guard were murdered in the firing."
A police unit arrived on the site in the interim.
The distance between the village and the district office is six hours by car.
(Inputs from Agencies)