Six jawans of the Assam Police died at the border with Mizoram while 'defending the constitutional boundary' of the state, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.
Mizoram had a conflicting version: it said the violence started after the Assam Police crossed the border and "over-ran" a police post at Kolasib in violation of an understanding between the police of the two states. Mizoram also said the Assam Police damaged vehicles on the national highway and opened fire on the state police.
Incidentally, the violence took place two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah met all Chief Ministers of the northeast at Shillong. Shah again dialled the Chief Ministers of the two sparring states on Sunday and asked them to resolve the border issue.
Earlier, Sarma and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga collided on Twitter, posting videos of the violence and sought Shah's intervention.
Three districts of Mizoram -- Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit -- share a 164.6 km long inter-state border with Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts. The area has witnessed clashes for decades, with the locals and security forces on each side accusing the other of intrusion. The last incident was reported in June.
