In a significant decision, the Gauhati High Court has ordered authorities to stop the eviction drive at Sonapur's Kachutali till September 30. Hearing a plea on Friday, the court ordered all eviction-related proceedings to be halted, bringing respite to the locals.

This comes after violent clashes in Kachutali during a recent eviction drive leading to several deaths after the police had to fire "retaliatory" shots to "control the crowd". Officials of the district administration and police personnel on ground sustained injuries and several police vehicles were damaged in alleged stone pelting and violent outburst from the local residents, Assam DGP Gyanendra Pratap Singh had said.

A section of the evicted residents of Kachutali had approached court stating that they had been evicted from lands owned by them before the region was declared as a tribal belt. The petitioners also produced land patta documents dating back to 1923 in the court to support their case.

The court directed the petitioners to submit their documents with the district commissioner, while directing the administration to verify the documents within September 30. If the documents stand valid, then tribal belt law will not be applicable on those residents, the court observed.

Notably, two people were killed in police firing, while at least 15 policemen were injured as a massive clash erupted in Assam's Sonapur on September 12 (Thursday) during an eviction drive. The dispute was over a 200-bigha government land allegedly occupied by people, who were termed as 'outsiders'. Violent scenes were witnessed as police and administrative officials came under attack by a group of encroachers. Armed with sticks and other weapons, the attackers targeted both the officials and their vehicles.

Speaking out on the incident, DGP Gyanendra Pratap Singh, who reached the site on the following day, said that the police firing was an attempt to control the crowd that led to the death of two locals.