In many cases, the police claimed that they had to open fire on the person as the accused tried to flee after snatching their firearms.
Digital Desk: The Gauhati High Court asked the Assam government on Friday to file a detailed and updated report within six weeks on the status of the probe into the "police encounter" that occurred in the state since May 2021.
After activist and lawyer Arif Jwadder of Delhi filed a petition asking for a CBI, special investigative team, or any other state's police team to look into the encounter cases under the court's supervision, the high court issued its directive.
Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer for civil rights and an activist, described the petitioner virtually from Delhi, arguing that the police had broken the law as stated in the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) Vs. State of Maharashtra & ors guidelines by the Supreme Court in cases involving alleged fake encounters.
He stated that the police adhere to the PUCL guidelines in the event of an injury during an encounter and said that no independent inquiry has been conducted in any of the cases in accordance with the rules established by the Supreme Court.
According to the petitioner, the High Court was informed that, in total, 161 police actions had been conducted in Assam over the past 13 months by the Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government.
He claimed that up to May 21 this year, 139 people had been injured and 51 accused people had died as a result of the incidents.
The death toll then rose to 54, as stated by the state administration in an affidavit provided to the court, he added. Sarma became the new CM on May 10 of last year.
According to the petitioner, neither the deceased nor the injured were militants.
He stated that it was impossible for all of the accused persons to steal a service revolver from a trained police officer.
It is to be noted that in a number of cases, the police claimed that they had to open fire on the person as the accused tried to flee after snatching their firearms.
Notably, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs stated that Assam reported the third highest number of police encounter deaths during 2021–22. Jammu and Kashmir topped the chart with 45 deaths, followed by Chhattisgarh (30), Assam (18) and Uttar Pradesh (11).
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