Kohima: Residents of No. 2 Negheribil in Assam’s Golaghat district filed a police complaint Wednesday after a violent confrontation with a group from Nagaland. The trouble began Tuesday when Assam Forest Department personnel stopped vehicles carrying rubber saplings from entering an area recently cleared by an eviction drive. Tension remained high. A group of roughly 40 people, led by Longayim and Mikirang village chairman Hussain Lotha, arrived carrying sharp weapons. They allegedly intimidated locals and turned aggressive.
The complaint submitted at Merapani police station claims the intruders assaulted residents. "The Naga group not only ignored our requests but also pushed and assaulted us, causing injuries. They further threatened us with dire consequences," the report stated. While police and CRPF personnel intervened to break up a scuffle on Wednesday, officials had not registered an FIR by the time this report was filed.
This flare-up follows an August 17 letter from the Lotha Lower Range Public Organisation, which asserts that No. 2 Negheribil sits within Nagaland’s jurisdiction. The organization claims the recent eviction of 59 families violates indigenous land rights. A representative from the Takam Mising Porin Kebang warned that unless authorities reach a formal resolution, the group will launch an economic blockade against Nagaland villagers along the border.
Updated at 27th August 2026 at 1:50am
New details from the Nagaland side suggest the conflict began August 25 when the Longayim Village Council tried to move rubber saplings meant for distribution to local farms. Zathungo Yanthan, an LLRPO joint secretary, claimed local police blocked their path, sparking the initial standoff that eventually required mediation from civil administration and border magistrates from both states.
Yanthan alleged the situation spiraled on August 26 when he and two village council chairmen encountered a crowd of roughly 200 to 300 people from Assam blocking the road. Yanthan claims the crowd turned violent after the chairmen honked their horns, leading to an assault where he was manhandled, slapped, and stripped of his mobile phone. Wokha district officials were on-site for an assessment at the time of the flare-up.
Updated at 27th August 2026 at 9:46am
Nagaland officials offer a starkly different account of the standoff. Zathungo Yanthan, an LLRPO joint secretary, reported that the trouble ignited on August 25 when Assam forest guards blocked a vehicle transporting rubber saplings intended for distribution to local farms. Yanthan claims the situation only calmed after border magistrates from both states intervened.
The tension hit a boiling point on August 26 while Wokha district officials were on-site to assess the damage. Yanthan claims a mob of 200 to 300 people from Assam blocked the road, turning hostile when village council chairmen honked their horns to pass. He alleges that he was physically assaulted, slapped, and stripped of his mobile phone by the crowd.
Yanthan also voiced broader grievances, stating that Longayim, Mekirang, and Longchum villages lack functional roads, forcing residents to cross through Assam to reach their own territory. He pressed the Nagaland government to fast-track the foothill road project to bypass the contested area entirely.
The LLRPO maintains that while it does not object to the eviction of families, it insists that any such actions must be executed jointly by both state governments rather than through unilateral moves by Assam.
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