Police on Thursday rescued 260 people from Assam and brought to Guwahati, who were stranded in Meghalaya following the violence broke out at Shella and other parts in East Khasi Hills district.
The people hail from lower Assam’s Dhubri, Kokrajhar and Goalpara districts.
They worked in the unorganized sector in Sohra, Ichamati and other areas in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district.
Some of them said they saved their lives by hiding in the jungles.
“After the violence broke out, some of us fled to a forested area and spent four days there without any food. Later, we took refuge at a police station. It gave us nothing to eat, not even water,” New Indian Express quoted a rescued person as saying.
Assam’s inspector general of police (IGP) Deepak Kedia said he was constantly in touch with Meghalaya Police to bring back the stranded people.
Kedia said several others are still stuck up there and have taken shelter in police stations and BSF camps.
Bilasipara East MLA Ashok Kumar Singhi said 1,000-1,500 people were stranded in the violence-affected areas.
“I was told a lot of people from Sapatgram and other parts of lower Assam were suffering in the wake of the violence. So, I met chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and he instructed additional director general of police (ADGP) GP Singh to do the needful,” the newspaper quoted Singhi as saying.
He said with the intervention of IGP Deepak Kedia and his Meghalaya counterpart, they managed to bring 260 people.