Unidentified miscreants on Sunday night vandalised a mosque in western Assam’s Baksa district and burnt several Islamic holy books, including the Quran.
Baksa is one of the four districts that are part of the politically volatile Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), where elections are due in April.
Local residents and organisations including the All Bodoland Minority Students’ Union condemned the crime at the Kalapani Anchalik Mosque and on Monday demanded the arrest of the miscreants within 24 hours.
Thube Pratik Bijoy Kumar, the district’s Superintendent of Police, said authorities were probing the incident.
“The people in the area have understood that they should maintain calm,” observed Mr. Kumar. “The situation is under control now,” he said, adding that the locals had been assured that the culprits would be brought to book.
BTC chairman Hagrama Mohilary blamed the incident on “elements that want to create unrest” ahead of the elections to the 40-seat council. He is also the chief of the Bodoland People’s Front, one of the two regional allies of the BJP in Assam.
“I will meet Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation,” Mr. Mohilary said.
