Assam:On Mukroh firing Karbi groups submit memo to inquiry panel

GUWAHATI: Pressure groups from Karbi Anglong on Monday met a one-member commission of inquiry headed by retired Guwahati High Court judge Justice Rumi Kumari Phukan in Dongkamukam and submitted a memorandum on the gruesome firing that left six people dead.

A commission of inquiry constituted by the Assam government visited Dongkamukam for the second time to hold a public hearing in connection with the incident.
During the first hearing, only a few individuals and organizations came forward, apparently because it was held on short notice.

Karbi groups comprising the Joint Action Committee for Self-Government (JACAS), Karbi Student and Youth Council (KSYC), Karbi Farmers Association (KFA) and Karbi Anglong Indigenous Youth Association (KAIYA) have sought to hold public hearings. Thanks to the panel. for the second time.

“The public hearing will facilitate individuals or organizations, who have knowledge of the facts and circumstances leading to the shooting, to submit their statements to the commission,” the memorandum’s signatories said.
Condemning the incident that took place in Mukroh on November 22, 2022, the groups described the clash as unfortunate and condemnable.

“We strongly condemn this, and we demand that the person or group of persons responsible for creating this situation be brought to justice,” he said in the memorandum.

Praising the Assam government, the groups said the formation of a one-member inquiry commission deserves praise.

“We sincerely appreciate the Assam Government for taking immediate steps to constitute a Commission of Inquiry on November 23, 2023, to inquire into the facts and circumstances of the incident. We hope that the Commission, Your Honor Under the long judicial experience, will certainly succeed in ascertaining the full truth of the incident,” the one-member panel wrote in the memorandum.

Terming the death of Assam Forest Department home guard Bidyasing Lekthe as “mysterious”, the groups pointed out that a video of Lekthe appealing to the authority of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council was circulating on social media. A few days before the incident

The groups added that Lekthe had expressed concern (in a video clip) saying that forest guards were working in danger at the infamous forest camp. In this context, the Home Guard had also appealed for help from the concerned authorities.
The organizations further urged the panel to examine whether Lekthe was a victim of a timber smuggling racket in the area.

Apart from this, the groups further appealed to the commission to review the orders suspending the officer-in-charge, Zirikendeng and the forest ranger concerned. And that reasonable compensation be paid to Badia Singh Lekthe’s family.
“We are not satisfied with the manner in which the Forest Officer and the Officer-in-Charge of Zirikindeng were summarily suspended. The Conservator of Forests were on duty to protect the forest in the Assam region and the Assam Police officers were the forest staff. were helping to illegally transport the logs to Meghalaya,” he said in the memorandum.

He further appealed that the scope of the commission should be widened.
“We reiterate that the unfortunate firing of Mukroh is not just a matter of timber smuggling. Illegal logging, regular timber smuggling across the border to Meghalaya, and construction of NEC roads to Mokoilum are in Assam territory. , are part of continuous and systematic encroachment into the notified valid boundaries of Karbi Anglong (and West). Karbi Anglong),” the memorandum read.
“We would like to state that Karbi Anglong (divided in 2016), formerly known as Maker Hills, has well defined the correct boundaries. And the correct boundaries of Block 1, Block 1, Khanduli and Pasiyar district Therefore, the claim of transfer of these areas to Meghalaya is invalid, as all border issues between the then United Khasi and Jaintia Hills Districts and Makir Hills Autonomous District (now Karbi Anglang) are settled at that time. had been when the latter was formed in 1951,” it read.

Notably, the commission of inquiry had visited the firing site at Mukroh on 28 December 2022 to get a “first-hand understanding” of the site of the unfortunate incident along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
Speaking to media persons at the site, Justice Phukan said, “The ground visit will help us understand the facts and findings of the reports/documents we have received so far from the authorities concerned as the facts Only after valid verification.and results (through this ground visit) can we get a concept or understanding of the whole picture.

According to reports, the investigation panel inspected the firing site and the Forest Beat office, which was set ablaze by miscreants in the area.
“So we examined the crime scene, inspected the scene of the incident and inspected the places where the dead bodies were recovered. Then, based on the evidence of witnesses and maps, we will be able to see the whole picture. Without a site visit, it is difficult to understand or get a true picture,” said Justice Phukan.
It may be noted that the Assam government had last month set up a commission of inquiry to probe the circumstances that led to the infamous firing on the inter-state border, following an encounter between five Meghalaya citizens and an Assam forest guard. were killed A group of people and police/forest officials.

“The Commission will submit its report within two months from the date of issue of the notification,” an official statement issued on November 24, 2022 said.

The Commission of Inquiry has been constituted under Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 to find out the facts, circumstances and exact cause of the firing that took place on November 22, 2022, resulting in the death of 6 persons.