The rapid pace of police encounters in Assam drew sharp criticism from opposition parties and sections of civil society, many of whom termed the force as “trigger-happy”. In the latest such incident, police in Guwahati opened fire on a snatcher, who was allegedly accused of Bunty Gola, who was shot, believed to be a member of the infamous “Iranian group”, while trying to escape from the authorities on Wednesday night. is.
According to officials, Gowala tried to snatch a money bag from a trader in Maligaon Gaushala area on Tuesday evening and was taken into custody. The police took him to the Tetelia area the next night to trace his accomplices. But the accused allegedly tried to escape and was shot in the leg. The Deputy Commissioner of West Guwahati Police District informed the media about the incident on Thursday evening. Bunty Gowala is currently undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
Critics say police encounters have increased since the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government took power in May. On the other hand, supporters have praised the force for showing zero mercy towards criminals and alleged criminals. In the last two months, at least 17 encounters have taken place allegedly to stop criminals from trying to escape. Officials say drug dealers, animal smugglers, car thieves, rape accused and kidnappers are the targets. The opposition says the Assam government is encouraging the creation of a “trigger-happy” force and a “police state”.
According to officials, here are the details of some of the encounters that took place in the last few months:
- On the night of May 23, Bubu Konwar, a feared dacoit who had allegedly killed 42 people, including several high-profile murders in the state, was killed in a shootout near Gelke in Sibsagar district. He was declared brought dead at the local civil hospital. Konwar was also allegedly involved in several cases of car theft, drug smuggling, kidnapping, honey-trapping, arms smuggling, counterfeit currency circulation etc. He was arrested in 2016 for car theft. He was also charged with the murders of Congress leaders Hemant Barua and Dr. Mridul Barua in 2006. Born in Nagaland, dreaded dacoits often fled to the neighboring state after committing crimes in Assam.
- On May 31, drug dealer Jaitul Kabir was injured in police firing at Juria in Nagaon district. During a police operation in the area late at night, Kabir allegedly tried to escape by firing bullets. The police retaliated and he was injured. Nagaon district Superintendent of Police Anand Mishra said that the arrested accused, along with his brothers, used to carry out drug deals, dacoity, snatching etc. Kabir was reportedly involved in most of the crimes in the area. He is undergoing treatment after being shot in the leg by the police.
- Animal smuggler Shah Jamal was shot dead on May 31 while fleeing from Shrirampur police station in Kokrajhar district.
- On June 24, Mozammil Haque, another cattle smuggler from Bangladesh, was similarly shot by the police.
- On the night of July 2, an accused named Sorangi Chinnai, a member of the cow theft syndicate, was shot dead by the police while trying to escape from custody.
- On July 2, 65-year-old Syed Ali alias ‘Patha’, accused of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl, was shot dead while trying to escape by snatching a weapon from the police. Morigaon district superintendent of police Aparna Natarajan said the accused was taken to the spot by a police team and tried to escape when the convoy stopped at Gasargudi Point on Morigaon-Bhuragaon PWD road to take him to another vehicle.
- On July 3, Kanwaldeep Singh Sidhu, the prime accused in the abduction of Guwahati-based businessman Ajit Das, died in police firing when the accused tried to snatch a gun from the police personnel. He was arrested by the Assam Police from Karbi Anglong. Sidhu was a former inspector in the Railway Protection Special Force and was suspended in 2013 after he was found to be involved in several illegal activities. Sidhu was allegedly involved in smuggling of arms from Nagaland to other states of India.
- Assam Police jawan Rambabu Singh, another accused in the same kidnapping case, was also shot dead in the same incident.
- On 7 July, Mohammad Akhtar Raja Khan alias Tikru Khan, an accused of cattle smuggling, was gunned down by the police in Dibrugarh.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma drew criticism from the opposition when he said that shooting should be a pattern if criminals try to escape.
“If an accused tries to snatch a service gun and runs away, or even just runs away, and on top of that, is a rapist, the law allows such a person to be shot in the leg. But not on the chest,” Sarma said this week.
Opposition leader and newly elected MLA from Sivasagar constituency Akhil Gogoi accused the Assam government of human rights violations. Stating that these acts are an “attempt to turn Assam into a police state”, he appealed to human rights activists and intellectuals to launch an agitation against this ‘encounter trend’.
Asom Jatiya Parishad, a regional political party formed under the leadership of former AASU leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, has also criticized the police and accused the state government of using force for political interests.
He said, ‘Perhaps this is the biggest encounter ever since the independence of the country. Our country has a judicial system to punish criminals and shooting criminals can never be a pattern for the same,” said AJP leader Jagdish Bhuyan at a press meet in Guwahati on Friday.
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