Enforcement activities of the excise department might come to a halt soon.
The enforcement officials of the department have decided not to get engaged in any enforcement activities until the department shows empathy towards the three officials who died in a ‘mysterious’ road mishap recently while on duty.
Six-member team of the department who were on duty met with a road mishap at Morongi in Golaghat district on September 25.
Three officials died due to the accident while three others were critically injured.
Also read: Assam: Three excise officials killed in mysterious accident at Golaghat
The vehicle in which they were travelling hit a dumper and went into flames, leading to suspicion of a foul play behind the accident.
Interestingly, neither the excise department nor the Assam government is yet to announce any ex gratia to the slain employees or to the injured employees who are currently undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered a probe into the incident.
The probe will be carried out by Upper Assam Commissioner Jurie Sonowal.
But the probe order has also failed to convince the family members of the deceased.
“Although the government has a policy for giving assistance to employees who die on duty, nothing was done in case of our slain colleagues.”
“The medical expenditure of the three employees, who survived the fatal accident on September 25, was also borne by the staffs of the Kamrup excise department,” said a senior official of the department.
“We are not to get engaged ourselves in any sort of enforcement activities of the department in coming days,” he said.
“There will be a complete halt to enforcement machinery throughout the state,” he said.
The official further said they have also demanded the government to announce a one-time assistance of Rs 10 lakh to each of the slain officials and Rs. 4 lakh each to the injured ones.
