GUWAHATI: Leader of opposition at the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Tuesday urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take cognisance of the cases of police encounters to prevent such acts of extra-judicial shooting in Assam.
In a letter to the registrar (law) of NHRC, Saikia also urged the rights panel to make the one accountable who commits so, in the greater interest of humanity and to uphold the law of the land.
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Saiakia mentioned that from 2021 till now, extra-judicial shootings by Assam police took place on more than 180 occasions and in such incidents more than 80 civilians, and suspected criminals have lost lives.
“I am sure the attention of the Commission has already been caught by extra-judicial incidents of shooting and causing injury to suspects alleged of crime by Assam Police. The incident of shooting suspected criminals in the leg, on the pretext of fleeing, has increased after Himanta Biswa Sarma has taken charge as the chief minister of Assam, following his speech allowing police to shoot at the criminal on the leg,” Saikia said in the letter.
As per the newspaper report on June 6, 2021, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was quoted saying, “Someone asked me today if police shooting at persons who try to escape from custody has become a pattern. This should be the pattern if someone who is a rapist tries to flee after snatching arms from police or someone who tries to escape while recreating a scene of crime”.
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Sarma further said, “Police shouldn’t shoot them in the chest, but the law permits shooting them in the leg. The police in Assam shouldn’t be scared of taking such action (against criminals) but no such action should be taken against innocent persons.”
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Saikia said since then several encounters have been reported in Assam state. It seems that the Assam Police are carrying out the same procedure to bring the alleged criminals to a vegetative state.
“I would like to draw the attention of the Commission to the reports published in local English & vernacular language newspaper about extra-judicial firing on five Assamese youths, who have been suspected of criminal activities, by Assam Police on December 24 and 25 at different places of Assam, namely in Sadia, Sivasagar, Kamrup Metro and Kamrup,” he said.
“In one instance, a youth P Gogoi from district Sivasagar was shot at the leg on suspicion of being a cadre of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), an armed separatist organisation operating in Assam. But, it has been learnt that Gogoi was held and put in jail by paramilitary forces on suspicion of being a ULFA cadre in 2019. However, the competent court had acquitted him of the charges and ordered his release and since then he has been living with his parents earning a living as a daily labourer,” Saikia said.
“As per reports published in local newspapers, the family members of three youths of Sadia stated they were sought by police after taking them into police custody. The youths were employed in a government organisation for some time and they were removed later from their job by the government, after which, they started doing some other businesses. On the fateful day, they had gone for a picnic. When they did not return home in time, their family members went to the local police station under Sadia Police District to file missing reports, etc. However, the police personnel insisted that they write that the boys have gone to join ULFA-I,” he said.
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“The police personnel repeatedly forced and exerted pressure to write the way they dictated. The family members ultimately wrote in such a manner and after that, the boys were nabbed and later on shot in the legs,” the opposition leader alleged.
“Similarly, a youth of Rangiya was arrested on suspicion of being a ULFA-I messenger and allegedly keeping the ULFA-I flag, which his family members thoroughly deny the charge. He was arrested and taken to custody and later he was shot in the leg on the pretext of fleeing from police,” he also alleged.
“Most often it is reported that the suspected criminals are shot in the leg during a visit to the crime scene or place where the crime was committed and they try to flee by snatching their weapons, etc, without any counter struggle by the suspected offenders. So, in most cases, the shooting takes place while in custody,” he further said.
Saikia argued that the Indian laws have provisions for police personnel to revert back or shoot for self-defence.
He added, “But, misuse of the provision would endanger the rights of humans to live peacefully and in harmony as enshrined by the Constitution of India. The criminals, either suspected or proven, are human and they should be allowed to prove their innocence.”