GUWAHATI:
The one-man judicial panel led by Justice Rumi Kumari Phukan (retired judge of Gauhati High Court) on December 28 visited the place of occurrence of police firing at Mukroh in Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district bordering Meghalaya.
Six persons, including an Assam forest guard, were killed in the shooting by Assam Police and forest personnel following a clash with a group of people from Meghalaya side on November 22.
The one-man judicial panel was constituted by the Assam government on November 23 to probe into the causes and circumstances leading to the incident.
Justice (retired) Rumi Kumari Phukan accompanied by DIG (Central Range) Satyabrata Hazarika, West Karbi Anglong SP Indranil Baruah and other senior police and forest officials visited the place of occurrence and the forest beat office, which was burnt down by the miscreants after the firing.
“We came to see and verify what we found in the report. We need proper verification of the facts. We saw where the incident took place and from where the bodies were recovered. Then we will hear the witnesses before we visualise the report. We will discuss everything with the persons directly who have concerns over the incident,” Justice Phukan told reporters.
“Till now we can not say anything. The government has directed us to take stock of every situation. So we will take stock of the situation. It is necessary. We will finalise the report based on witnesses, documents, maps and all other official records,” Phukan added.
“We appreciate Justice Rumi Kumari Phukan for her visit. We hope that truth will be established through her report. In this regard, Karbi Students Association requests both states to maintain peace and harmony so that this very problem can be sorted out,” said Karbi Student Association (KSA) president Probin Timung, who accompanied the judicial judge panel during the visit.
“We want to clarify that this land belongs to Karbi Anglong according to the notification of the Union government in 1951. We also request our chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to resolve the issue immediately,” Timung added.
The one-man panel held a public hearing at Donkamukam Irrigation IB with the forest official and social, political and student organizations on December 27.
As per the requests of the organizations, the panel has fixed January 9 for a fresh hearing from the public on the incident.