Adivasis hit streets against killing of tea garden worker

Dibrugarh: Hundreds of adivasis hit the street here on Monday in protest against the brutal killing of a 22-year-old tea garden worker who was allegedly killed by members of the timber mafia on Saturday night.
According to witnesses, Balaram Sabachi, a resident of the Maijan area of Dibrugarh district, near the Greenwood tea estate, was tied to a timber-laden truck by his legs and dragged for almost 5km on the rough gravel road between the tea estate and Maijan ghat at around 8.30pm.Locals of Maijan gave chase and forced the speeding truck to stop but Sabachi was dead by then.
The furious crowd dragged driver Bijoy Dutta and two helpers, Kaliram Gogoi and Jitul Baruah, out of the truck and beat them severely.
While Dutta managed to escape, the two helpers were rescued by police and admitted in Assam Medical College and Hospital in extremely critical condition. The angry locals also set the truck on fire (in pic).
On Monday, Dutta's body was found floating in a water body in Maijan. It is suspected he drowned while trying to escape the mob.
With Sabachi and the driver dead, and the two helpers in coma, police are clueless about the motive of the crime. Locals said people in the area have been raising their voice against the timber mafia which uses the route to transport truckloads of logs.
According to sources, there are several illegal saw mills along the Brahmaputra in the nearby Rohmoria and Nagaghuli areas. Even after the Supreme Court's ban on felling of trees on December 12, 1996, plywood, veneer and saw mills have not shut down completely in Assam and illegal felling is rampant in many parts of the state.
Meanwhile, All Assam Tea Tribe Students' Association has sought a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the victim's kin and strict action against the culprits.