51 dead, 139 injured in police actions in 13 months: Assam govt to HC

Assam govt to HC,51 dead, 139 injured in police actions in 13 months. A total of 161 incidents of police action took place in Assam in the 13 months since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa took over the charge in May 2021, leaving 51 accused dead and 139 others injured, Guwahati High Court has been informed.

The state government said this in an affidavit as summoned by the High Court, which on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) till July 29.
“As per records, from May 2021 to date 21.05.2022, there have been 51 deaths and 139 injuries during police operations or police custody. These incidents are related to 31 districts of the state,” said Animesh Talqdar, Joint Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Politics.

“A total of 161 cases have been registered in 31 districts of Assam from May 2021 to 31.05.2022,” read the affidavit, a copy of which was available with PTI.
It said that FIRs have been registered in all the cases and investigations have been carried out as per the order of the Supreme Court.

The Assam government has denied allegations by PIL petitioner, Advocate Arif Muhammad Yasin Jawadar, that separate FIRs have not been registered for each incident of police firing, which resulted in death.

The petitioner demanded an independent investigation of the encounter from an independent agency like CBI, SIT, or any other police team from other states under the supervision of the court.
The affidavit states that “in all cases where the death occurred, separate FIRs were registered and an independent inquiry was ordered by the provisions of the law as well as a magisterial inquiry.”

It said that in addition to the 32 deaths, there were four other “accidental deaths” of the accused while they were escaping from police custody. These cases have been or are being investigated by officers from different police stations and various districts outside the jurisdiction of the concerned Superintendent of Police.