Cases of Gross Violation of Human Rights in Barak Valley of Assam
The Assam Police and CRPF personnel have been violating human rights systematically in Barak Valley killing serially innocent persons, denying justice, framing fake charges, arresting and detaining people in trumped-up cases, and raiding, harassing, abusing and humiliating in false charges.
There are four such cases of gross violation of human rights perpetrated recently in the valley:
1. On 19 April, 2007 one Pia Das alias Pria Das, aged 25, wife of Shnakr Das under Silchar Police Station in Cachar, died abnormally in Silchar Medical College Hospital, Silchar when she was admitted there in a very critical condition. According Kiran Sharma, and Rahul Das, the mother and minor son of the victim, Pia was badly beaten by Shnakar Das, her husband. They allege, he used to torture, abuse and beat her always during her conjugal life for dowry. That day he hit her on the head with a stool to which she succumbed. Afterwards Kiran Sharma went to Gunghoor Outpost to lodge FIR but Sub Inspector N R Das, in-charge of the Outpost denied to register the case and bullied and her demanded her five thousand rupees as the price of registering the FIR. She lodged complaint to the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police. But till the date no action has been taken regarding the investigation of her case and delinquent police officials.
2. One Hashmat Ali, aged about 40, of village Burunga, Bihara under Katigorah Police Station in Cachar was gunned down by a police team led by S I Sewa Singh, in-charge of Bihara Outpost in the intervening night between 30 April and 1 May of 2007 at his house. There was a quarrel between his father Imam Uddin and Uncle Kamal Uddin over the right to use of the ghat of their ancestral pond. In the morning of 30 April Kamal Uddin filed a complaint against Imam Uddin and his son Hashmat Ali, the victim alleging threat to his person and property from the accused. It should be noted that such cases come under section 107 of Criminal Procedure Code which are filed with executive magistrates. In the night at about 11pm Sewa Singh arrived at the house of Kamal Uddin with a police team. They attacked the house of Hashmat Ali at about 12 O' clock when inmates were sleeping. Police broke down the doors, entered the house and started breaking and destroying household things. Being terrified by this sudden heavy attack Hashmat jumped through a window and ran towards paddy field. Police opened fire and shot him dead. The district administration and police are trying to explain the case away terming it as an accidental death in stark contradiction with the facts known to all.
3. The police posted at Kailain Patrol Post under the Katigorah Police station in cachar killed one Motahir Ali Tapadar, aged 38, son of late Akaddas Ali Tapadar of village Bhatgram, Kalain under the same police station on 21 September, 2007. The victim was in their custody at the time of his death. He was arrested by the police on 20 September in connection with a complaint against him. This complaint was resulted from a quarrel of his family with a nieghbouring family over the toys of the kids of the two families. In the evening of the day of arrest Olimun Nesa visited the said PP with some respectable person from their village to see her husband. They saw that S I Narain Tamuli and other police personnel were beating, abusing and humiliating her husband. When she tried to dissuade the men in uniform they beat and kicked her too. In the morning next day, that is 21 Septebmer, Narain Tamuli brought Motahir out of PP house to take him to the court. Olimun Nesa came and beseeched Tamuli to release her husband. Tamuli demanded her ten thousand rupees and he threatened her that otherwise he would kill Motahir. In fact he again started to beat and kick him in full public view. When the condition of Motahir deteriorated beyond limits Narain took him to the Kalain Primary Health Centre. Here also he tortured, beaten and kicked Motahir. At about 1.30 Motahir breathed his last. After the death local people gathered in front of Kalain PP and shouted slogans demanding arrest of Narain Tamuli. Police started administering lathi-blows on the member of crowd at which people started to throw stones. Police opened fire and shot 80 rounds wounding a boy of 17 namely Saidur Rahman of Dhumkar who was wtching the incident from roof top of a nearby house. Being terrified people got dispersed. But then the police themselves set fire on the PP house Gaon Panchayat Office building and burnt them down. As per their plan police lodged an FIR charging falsely one Faruk Ahmed and other unidentified five hundred people under many non-bailable sections of the IPC including 309.In connection with this fake case police arrested Faruk Ahemd, Imamul Hoque, Ibajul Hoque and seriously wounded Saidur Rahman.
4. It was reported in the news papers on 23 October, 2007 that on 22 October at about 10am five Central Reserve Police Force personnel belonging to Gharmura Camp of E-147 Company shot dead one Jamir Uddin Laskar of about 35 years of village Boinchera (also known as Bhaichera) under the Katlichera Police Station in the district of Hailakandi in Barak Valley of Assam. Members of the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee talked with family members, relatives and nieghbours of the deceased, local journalists, CRPF personnel of the said camp and police personnel of Katlichera Police Station. According to the sources, other than the two mentioned last, the victim Jamir Uddin Laskar was a poor daily wage labourer. He is an innocent peace loving and law abiding citizen. There were no complaints whatsoever against him in police records. His nieghbour Moijun Nesa states that in the morning of the day of incident the victim was collecting grass to graze his cattle from a paddy field adjacent to her house. At about 10am she saw five CRPF men accompanied by one Rezwan Uddin, who is known to be a CRPF informer, going towards the paddy field where the deceased was working. She smelt something wrong and informed Sajna Begum and Anwara Begum, sister and wife of the victim respectively. When three of them went to the place of occurrence they saw Rezwan Uddin identifying the victim was asking the men in uniform to shot by pointing his fingers towards Jamir Uddin who was dumbfounded at the sight. At that moment Sajna and Anwara started to cry and beseech the men with arms to spare the life of Jamir Uddin at which they were beaten, kicked, abused and humiliated. As per the accounts of the eye-witnesses named above, at the instance of Rezwan Uddin a bullet was shot targeting Jamir Uddin which was missed, the second shot also missed but the third bullet hit on the back of the target, who had already started to run away, and piercing his chest exited. The critically injured victim was sent to the Silchar Medical College Hospital, Silchar where he was declared dead at 6.30pm that day.
These horrendous incidents robbed the citizens of the valley of all senses of security. It seems, we are living at the mercy of those whose duty it is to protect us.
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