New Delhi: Two people were killed as fresh violence erupted in the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong district in Assam on Tuesday (December 23). The district witnessed widespread unrest for the second consecutive day, marked by arson, vandalism and clashes with security forces. The police are keeping vigil following the unrest. Additional security forces will be deployed today (December 24), the chief minister said.Mobs went on a rampage in Kheroni, around 190 km southeast of Guwahati, damaging and setting fire to shops, torching vehicles and attacking the police using bombs, stones and arrows, The Hindu reported. The violence continued despite prohibitory orders being imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) after unrest first broke out on Monday (December 22).The clashes started after Karbi tribal groups protested demanding the eviction of people whom they referred as “outsiders” from village grazing reserves (VGRs) and professional grazing reserves (PGRs), two categories of government land. West Karbi Anglong, along with Karbi Anglong district further east, falls under the jurisdiction of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC).Confirming the deaths, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described them as “deeply painful” and said he was monitoring the situation closely. “Additional security forces will be deployed in Kheroni tomorrow (Wednesday) to maintain peace. We are in constant touch with all concerned to restore normalcy and resolve issues through dialogue… The government will stand with all affected families and provide all necessary support,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu on Tuesday.According to officials, one of the deceased was a tribal protester who succumbed to injuries sustained during the clashes. The second victim, a non-tribal person with disability, was charred to death after being trapped inside a building that was set on fire.In response to the renewed violence, the state government temporarily suspended internet services in West Karbi Anglong and Karbi Anglong, both Sixth Schedule districts administered by the KAAC.Assam director general of police Harmeet Singh, who has been stationed in the affected areas since Monday evening, said dozens of police personnel were injured during the confrontations with protesters. “They attacked us from two sides. Thirty-eight police personnel, including an IPS officer, were injured. I was hit on the shoulder,” Singh told journalists in Kheroni, as per the report.He said protesters had resumed violent acts despite earlier assurances. “They [protesters] had promised yesterday that they would not resort to violence, but they attacked shops and burst gas cylinders again today. We were attacked with bombs, and one of our personnel was hit by an arrow. We are exercising restraint, firing only tear gas and rubber bullets,” the DGP said, warning that legal action would follow if the violence continued.Kheroni and Donkamokam, located about 26 km apart, had appeared to stabilise on Monday night after Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu and the DGP visited the areas. In Donkamokam, protesters had earlier torched the ancestral house of KAAC chief and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tuliram Ronghang. However, violence resurfaced on Tuesday shortly after Pegu left Kheroni around noon.Earlier, chief minister Sarma said the initial violence on Monday was sparked by misinformation. “The news spread that nine people on fast at Kheroni were arrested by the police on Sunday (December 21) night. In reality, they were brought to Guwahati as their health condition had deteriorated,” he said.