Guwahati: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the union home secretary and Assam chief secretary to suggest measures to prevent incidents in disputed areas and asked them to furnish their responses before the commission within two weeks.

The NHRC directive came after the Meghalaya government had moved it following the Mukroh firing incident near the Assam-Meghalaya borders on November 22 in which six people were killed.

The Commission taking cognizance of the violence said that the incident was an outcome of the long-pending border dispute between the two states and could have been averted had the controversy been settled earlier.

The NHRC observed that whatever the dispute, police have to use restraint in such a situation.

“There is a need to examine the standard operating procedure, if any, in vogue about firing by armed forces/police in disputed areas between states,” it added.

Earlier, violence erupted in Mukroh village after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber and en route to Meghalaya was stopped by police and forest personnel of West Karbi Anlong district of Assam on November 22 morning, leading to a clash between the forces and locals in the area.

In the violence, one forest personnel and five civilians from Meghalaya were killed triggering tension between the two northeastern states.