New Incident of Assam Rifles Brutality Sparks Protests

NEW DELHI: Another case of brutality by the Assam Rifles has come to light , sparking outrage and protests in Assam. This time the place is Patiachuburi area in Tezpur, Assam where two persons were killed in firing by a jawan of the 12 Assam Rifles on Sunday night around 10.30 pm.

The incident sparked huge protests by angry residents of the Patiachuburi area, who gheraoed the Tezpur police station on Monday demanding exemplary punishment to the guilty.

People gathered in large numbers near the Tezpur police station shouting slogans against the police on Monday and demanding immediate arrest and stringent punishment of the accused.

The accused jawan has been arrested and produced before the judicial magistrate.

While the deceased have been identified as Gautam Das and his neighbour Babu Das, it is also reported that Gautam's wife Jinu Das also sustained injury in the leg as a result of the firing after which she was rushed to the Kanaklata Civil Hospital in Tezpur Sunday night.

According to the police, the accused Karnal Singh Kapur, a soldier with Assam Rifles, who was stationed at Mission Chariali in Tezpur had gone to the residence of Gautam Das of Patiachuburi to have country liquor, along with some of his fellow jawans. The troops then got embroiled in a quarrel with Gautam but left after sometime.

The soldiers,according to the police, returned to his residence around 9.45pm and resumed the quarrel, after which the jawan opened fire from his service rifle at Gautam and his neighbour Babu Das, as a result of which both died on the spot. The accused then rushed to the base camp after the incident.

However, no details regarding what the quarrel was about was revealed by the police.

A case has been registered at Tezpur Sadar police station.

Patiachuburi area in Tezpur district has recently been plagued with several liquor dens and antisocial elements, according to the residents of the area. They have also alleged that the police have done nothing about it despite being aware of it.

Meanwhile, the Army clarified that the firing done was in the personal capacity of the jawan and no counter insurgency operation angle was involved in it.

“The firing incident has no counter insurgency/counter terrorism operational angle involved in it. As per the information available, the Assam rifles personnel allegedly got into this scuffle with the civilians in his personal capacity”, Defence spokesman Lt Col Suneet Newton said in Guwahati.

“He is under police custody and the Army authorities are extending full cooperation in the investigation of the case”, the spokesperson added.