For the 1,700-odd people who reached Assam on Saturday morning by two special trains from Bangalore, the decision to return home was driven by rumours rather than any direct physical threat.
All of them, mostly students and professionals, hoped that the situation would return to normal soon so that they would be able to return to their place of work or education in the cities like Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai.
“Nobody threatened me, nor do I know of any acquaintance who was directly threatened to leave. But there were lots of rumours, several hearsay,” said Niranjan Mushahary after disembarking from the train at Rangiya station.
Mushahary, hailing from Khoirabari in Udalguri district, has spent a few years in Bangalore where he works in a private firm.
Around 600 passengers got off at the Rangiya station, while the rest alighted at Guwahati.Ramen Narzari from Goreshwar, who works as a security guard in Bangalore, said people from Assam and other North-Eastern states were in a state of panic after news spread that they would be targeted in a big way after Eid-ul-Fitr.
“My family asked me to return, even if it’s for a short time,” he said. The Kamrup (Rural) district administration made security and transport arrangements for all the returnees to their homes from Rangiya railway station. All Bodo Students’ Union district president Paresh Chandra Bodo was at the station to receive the returnees.
There was a stampede-like situation at Guwahati railway station as the trains rolled in.