Assam riots have turned from bad to worst with the rioters defying police's "shoot-at-sight" order, leading to loss of more lives and wounding many people.
The death toll due to clashes between Bodo tribespeople and Muslim settlers in Assam has climbed to 36 and tens of thousands of people have been rendered homeless since last Friday.
"Nobody is following any curfew," Sanjeev Kumar Krishna, a police official in Chirang district, told Reuters over phone. "People are still walking out on the roads, huts are being set ablaze."
"The firing between police and rioters are still taking place," S.N. Singh, Inspector General of Police, Assam, told Reuters by phone. "We realise the gravity of the situation when we see blood stains on the roads and surroundings. We are trying our best to control the situation."
13,000 troops have been deployed in the worst affected districts of Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Chirang and Bongaigaon.
"The Army has staged flag marches and wherever the vehicles cannot travel, flag marches on foot have been carried out," Times of India quoted Defence spokesman Lt Col SS Phogat as saying.
The defence ministry on Tuesday decided to deploy more army in the troubled areas after rioting refused to die down. 40 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts at present.
Violence started on Friday night after a group from Jayapur village, largely occupied by Muslims, allegedly killed four youth belonging to Bodo tribal community. The incident led to an all-out community war, followed by a series of clashes between the two groups.
