Guwahati: In another incident raising concerns about custodial deaths, a man with a history of theft, including chain-snatching, died following Assam police firing in Guwahati.
The deceased has been identified as Ranesh Daimari, alias Raju. He sustained critical injuries in a police firing incident on Tuesday night in the Chachal area, under the jurisdiction of the Dispur police station in Guwahati.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
He succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday while undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
Police sources said that the incident is connected to a recent chain-snatching case reported in Jalukbari, in which Daimari was allegedly involved.
According to police records, Daimari had a criminal history spanning two decades with several theft cases registered against him. He had been released from jail on April 10 and had reportedly survived a previous police encounter.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Police officials said Daimari was recently identified in a video related to the Jalukbari chain-snatching incident and was also under investigation for a similar incident in Borbari. He was apprehended by police in Nalbari, where he had reportedly gone to attend a wedding.
Dispur police claimed that Daimari used a pistol during the alleged theft and had shown the weapon to the police party.
Guwahati East Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Mrinal Deka claimed that Daimari attempted to use the pistol against the officers, which prompted them to open fire in self-defense.
“He sustained gunshot wounds to his legs, and no other injuries were found on his body,” Deka added.
However, Daimari’s wife has vehemently disputed the police’s account, labeling his death as suspicious.
She claimed that her husband was not engaged in any criminal activity at the time of his arrest and was picked up by the police while returning home to Kumarikata in Tamulpur district from Nalbari.
While acknowledging his past involvement in theft cases, she insisted that he had not committed any recent crimes and had been acquitted in previous cases.
Describing the encounter as “brutal,” she questioned the police’s claims, highlighting the absence of visible gunshot wounds and pointing to only dark marks on his neck.
She further alleged that her husband did not die in a police encounter but was instead killed by the police in cold blood.
A post-mortem examination and a magisterial inquiry are expected to be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of Daimari’s death.
This incident occurs against a backdrop of growing concerns regarding police encounters in Assam.
Last year, the Supreme Court expressed serious concern over 171 police encounters that occurred in the Assam between May 2021 and August 2022. These incidents resulted in the deaths of 56 individuals, including four in custody, and injuries to 145 others.
The apex court was hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by advocate Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, challenging a Gauhati High Court order that had dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an investigation into these encounters.
Furthermore, in September last year, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Assam Police officer Mrinal Deka, who is now posted as DCP of Guwahati East and three other officers for allegedly staging a gunfight in the Tinsukia district.
The complaint, filed by three men – Dipjyoti Neog, Manuj Buragohain, and Biswanath Borgohain – named Mrinal Deka, who was then the Sadiya Superintendent of Police (SP), along with Sub-Inspector Debasis Dekari, Inspector Si-im Sing Timung, and former Tinsukia Assistant Superintendent of Police Bibhash Das.
The three men alleged that they were apprehended by Assam Rifles on the night of December 23, 2023, and subsequently handed over to a police team led by SP Deka.
They claimed that after police officials had drinks with Assam Rifles personnel, they were taken in police vehicles through the Hahkhati forest reserve.
The victims alleged that around 3 am on December 24, the police stopped in the forest, made them lie down, and shot them in the leg one by one.
The FIR was filed a day after the trio submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged fake encounter case, detailing the events of December 23, 2023, during which they were apprehended and claimed to have links with the ULFA-I.