October 27: Several Bhutanese travelers have been injured after they were attacked by a mob of angry people in Tamalpur in the Indian state of Assam yesterday morning.

Tamalpur is located about 27 kilometers from Samdrupjongkhar.

The travelers, numbering about 200 plus, were on their way from Samdrupjongkhar to Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Samtse, Nanglam, and Daifam.

The incident followed a road accident yestereday morning in the same area in which an Indian national was killed by a Bhutanese trucker. The truck driver has been apprehended and is presently in the custody of Tamalpur police.

The Indian national who was killed in the accident was the president of the local merchant’s association.

Details are sketchy at the moment. Our Samdrupjongkhar correspondent Pema Samdrup is trying to get in touch with Bhutanese as well as Indian officials who are trying to defuse the tension and help resolve the differences.

Several vehicles were damaged in the incident. Reportedly about 11 vehicles including five trucks and six light vehicles were damaged in the accident. Their wind shields were shattered, and fuel pipes were severed.

In some instances, the mob dumped large quantities of salt in the vehicle engine. According to eyewitness account, the angry mob attacked the convoy of Bhutanese vehicles. In the frenzy, some of the vehicles managed to escape but many were caught in the attack.

Some of the passengers had come back to Samdrupjongkhar. They were treated at the Samdrupjongkhar hospital. Most of them sustained only minor injuries but an elderly woman broke her leg while she was trying to jump from the vehicle and escape. The injured also includes a seven month old baby.

The incident occurred at around 10.30 yesterday morning. There were about 42 vehicles in the convoy and more than 200 passengers.