Muslim student leader shot dead in broad daylight; CM calls for peace

News Network

August 2, 2017

Guwahati, Aug 2: Miscreants shot dead president of All Bodoland Territorial Council Muslim Student's Union Lafiqul Islam Ahmed at Kokrajhar town in broad daylight on Tuesday. The ethnically volatile Bodo heartland witnessed spontaneous protests across the minority-dominated pockets of the state, within hours the incident.

Eyewitnesses said that the student leader was sitting at his shop at Titaguri market at Kokrajhar when two motorcycle-borne gunmen shot him dead from a close range.

As protestors set up blockades on national highways at several places in four Bodo-dominated districts, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal convened an emergency security meeting and asked the police to launch a manhunt to nab the culprit.

CM Sonowal, while condemning the dastardly act, called upon the people at large to maintain peace and harmony and stay away from the rumour mongers for the benefit of all sections of the people in the state.

Lafikul was scheduled to address a public rally at neighbouring Chirang district convened to address the problems of the state's minority community.

A source said that Lafikul has been vocal against the illegal trading of cows to Bangladesh across the international border close to Dhubri-Kokrajhar districts.

The incident occurred when the state is on high alert due to Independence Day and specially on the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state for a day-long review of the flood situation.

Police said that they were examining all angles to ascertain the identity of the killers.

Kokrajhar has a history of several ethnic clashes between Bengali-speaking Muslim and Bodo militants as well as between Bodos and Adivasis in the past, the worst being in 2012.

Assam CM asked Assam police director general Mukesh Sahay to rush to Kokrajhar to review the situation and initiate an inquiry to nab the culprit within 24 hours. He also asked Kokrajhar deputy commissioner to keep a vigil on the situation and maintain peace and order in the district. CM Sonowal also asked special DGP Kula Saika to rush to Udalguri and assess the situation.

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Musslims have to start reacting by killing the culprits the at spot, epidemic is not a crime

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‘This is how it began in Gujarat’: Modi outlines BJP’s political ambitions in Kerala

News Network

January 23,2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, January 23, indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to expand its political footprint in Kerala ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in the coming months.

Speaking at a BJP-organised public meeting, Modi drew parallels between the party’s early electoral gains in Gujarat and its recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. The civic body win, which ended decades of Left control, was cited by the Prime Minister as a possible starting point for the party’s broader ambitions in the state.

Recalling BJP’s political trajectory in Gujarat, Modi said the party was largely insignificant before 1987 and received little media attention. He pointed out that the BJP’s first major breakthrough came with its victory in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that year.

“Just as our journey in Gujarat began with one city, Kerala’s journey has also started with a single city,” Modi said, suggesting that the party’s municipal-level success could translate into wider electoral acceptance.

The Prime Minister alleged that successive governments led by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) had failed to adequately develop Thiruvananthapuram. He accused both fronts of corruption and neglect, claiming that basic infrastructure and facilities were denied to the capital city for decades.

According to Modi, the BJP’s control of the civic body represents a shift driven by public dissatisfaction with the existing political alternatives. He asserted that the BJP administration in Thiruvananthapuram had begun working towards development, though no specific details or timelines were outlined.

Addressing the gathering at Putharikandam Maidan, Modi said the BJP intended to project Thiruvananthapuram as a “model city,” reiterating his party’s commitment to governance-led change.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Kerala also included the inauguration of several development projects and the flagging off of new train services, as the BJP intensifies its political outreach in the poll-bound state.

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