Tea workers kill one, call strike in Assam

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Tea plantation workers in Assam burned one person to death and left six wounded on Monday as they called a general strike to protest against attacks on their community, police said.

The call for a 36-hour shut-down came after locals attacked a group of about 5,000 tea plantation workers as they tried to march to the Assam state secretariat building in the capital Dispur on Saturday.

Police stopped the marchers from approaching the building and angry workers hurled stones at shops and damaged vehicles. Local people retaliated, killing two and injuring more than 100.

"The situation in Assam is very tense. Security forces have been put on maximum alert to prevent a backlash," said a senior police officer, who did not want to be named.

"If necessary the army will be called in, they have been asked to be on standby," he said.

Monday's victim was set on fire by workers in the remote Kokrajhar district, police said.

The unrest in Assam's tea gardens started last week after workers began demanding better working conditions. Tea plantation workers account for more than eight percent of Assam's nearly 27 million people.