Three villagers were shot dead in the latest ethnic clashes in India's north-eastern state of Assam, taking the death toll of the recent spate to 73, officials said Tuesday. A group of suspected Bodo militants attacked villagers in Raniguli in Kokrajhar district late Monday, killing three men and injuring two other people before fleeing, L.R. Bishnoi of the state police was quoted as saying by DPA. "The situation is still tense but stabilizing," Bishnoi said adding that curfew had been re-imposed in Kokrajhar district after Monday's incident. Only one-third of the displaced, who include families from both Bodo and Muslim communities, had returned home, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was quoted as saying by Times Now television channel. Gogoi said 15 people including seven children had died in the camps, where aid workers say medicines and doctors are lacking and sanitation is poor. The clashes are the latest in a long-simmering conflict between Bodos and the Muslim settlers over land rights and other issues.
