GUWAHATI:
The Assam government, on September 29, failed to submit a detailed updated investigation report for every encounter case at Gauhati High Court, prompting the to hear the case again on November 14.
The High Court had on July 29 directed the Assam government to submit a detailed and updated investigation report for every encounter case within six weeks.
Altogether 161 incidents of police action took place across the state in the 13 months after chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government assumed charge in May 2021, resulting in the death of 51 accused people and injuries to 139 others till May 21 2022. This was informed by the state home and political department in an affidavit before the High Court. Since then the death has increased to 54.
Activist and lawyer based in Delhi from Assam Arif Jwadder, the petitioner who had filed the PIL, sought an order from the High Court for the registration of an FIR in the alleged fake encounter cases and an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or a police team from another state, under the supervision of the court.
Besides the Assam government, the director general of police (DGP), law and justice department, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Assam Huma Rights Commission (AHRC) have been named as a respondent in the PIL filed by Jwadder.
He also sought a judicial inquiry by a sitting Judge of the Guwahati High Court into the alleged encounters and monetary compensation to the families of the victims after due verification.
Jwadder said in the PIL that as per the police statements published in newspapers after all the encounters, the accused tried to snatch service revolvers from the police personnel and that law enforcement had to act in self-defence.
“The dead or the injured persons were not militants and it can’t be the case that all the accused could snatch a service revolver from a trained police officer,” Jwadder added.