Guwahati, June 22 : At least 20 people were injured and more than a dozen vehicles were set ablaze by a mob Wednesday after police fired shots in the air and teargassed those opposing a government eviction drive in Assam's main city of Guwahati.
Shoot-at-sight orders were issued after the mob attacked pedestrians and vehicles, a police officer said.
At least five government-run city buses and many cars were set on fire as protestors resorted to pelting stones at security forces, he said.
"Rioters indulging in torching of vehicles and destroying public property would be dealt with severely with shoot-on-sight orders issued," Assam Inspector General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said.
More than 5,000 people led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), a peasants' group, staged a protest in Guwahati demanding that the authorities put a stop to an eviction drive in the city's hill areas.
"The mob started pelting stones and attacking vehicles that prompted police to act," a police official said.
Police burst teargas canisters and resorted to baton charge, besides firing in the air, to disperse the unruly mobs.
