In a landmark judgment, Indian Army’s Summary General Court Martial has sent seven personnel, including a Major General to life imprisonment for extrajudicial killings of five persons in Assam way back in 1994.
Finally, the families of the five victims of the Dangari encounter case that took place in February, 1994 got justice after a long wait of 24 years.
Earlier, the Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) of the infamous Dangari Army encounter in which five youths namely Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran were brutally killed, had concluded on July 27.
The SGCM had begun on July 16 at Laipuli Army Camp under the HQ of 2 Mountain Division.
CBI (vide FIR No. RC – 4/S/2000-CAL) charge-sheeted the guilty Army personnel after the survivors and witnesses deposed their statements.
The Army officers found guilty are Maj General A K Lal, Col Thomas Methew, Col R S Sibiren, Capt Dilip Singh, Capt Jagdeo Singh, Naik Albindar Singh, Naik Shivendar Singh.
It can be mentioned here that the Dholla-based 18 Punjab Regiment of the Indian Army had picked up nine persons – AASU leader Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal, Bhaben Moran, Matheswar Moran, Gunin Hazarika, Prakash Sharma and Manoranjan Das from different locations of Doomdooma circle in Tinsukia district between February 17 to 19 in 1994 and detained them at the Dholla Army Camp following the killing of Rameswar Singh, the general manager of the Assam Frontier Tea Limited at Talap Tea Estate by ULFA militants.