On June 4, 2022 the Assam Police have registered 16 cases against Popular Front of India (PFI) for their alleged links with the Bangladesh based Islamic terror group Ansarullah Bangladesh Team (ABT).

Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Hiren Nath reportedly said, “On April 15, we registered a case in Barpeta district in which some (16) ABT activists were arrested. One of them was Maqibul Hussain. We have found evidence that PFI has close links with Bangladesh-based terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team. According to the police version reported in the Sentinel, Assam, during the interrogation, Hussain “admitted” that he was the president of PFI of Barpeta district. Before joining Ansarullah Bangla Team he was actively working for PFI in the lower Assam, but later resigned to join the said group where he was trained by Mehdi Hasan.”

A report in the Business Standard, quoted Nath saying, “One of the modus operandi of this group or the workers is that anything happening anywhere in the country which does not even have any connection with Assam–may be some Hijab issue or some temples, mosques– they will demonstrate it here, especially in the lower Assam region, including Guwahati city, Goalpara, Barpeta, Baksa, Dhubri and some parts of the Barak Valley. They are provoking people and it is very dangerous for the country.” He reportedly added, “We have recovered some printing materials printed in Bengali and Arabic, that contained literature teaching Jihad, how to do Jihad, how to attract people to Jihad, what are the requirements for the Jihadi, and all these things. We are investigating it all. If anyone tries to disturb the social peace and tranquility, or take the law into their hands, we will take very strong action against them.”

It is to be noted that the police have also registered two more cases against PFI’s student wing Campus Front of India (CFI). The state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been reportedly urging the Centre to ban PFI and CFI organizations.

Interestingly, DGP Nath had also offered help to Uttar Pradesh police with respect to the recent clashes in Kanpur which broke out between two groups belonging to different communities.

Violence had broken out in Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh after weekly Friday prayers as members of the minority community clashed with police in reaction to the police lathi-charging some locals. According to other reports, the violence broke out in the Becongunj area near Yatimkhana after police baton-charged some locals. Hundreds of people had taken to the streets in protest.

Media reports stated that violence broke out after a local community leader had called for shops in the area to be closed in the area to “protest” the objectionable remarks by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against Prophet Mohammed. The few outfits belonging to the Hindu majority feared isolation and an attack by Muslims on the street and hence brick and stone throwing broke out. This was brought under control by the police. Unconfirmed reports said that a ‘bandh” call has now been given. Meanwhile, several arrests have been made in Kanpur.

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In disturbing developments in the Batadraba police station burning case, the family, friends and fellow-villagers of Shafikul Islam, the fisherman whose alleged custodial death led to the violence, have now been dubbed “Jihadi” and “criminal”, casting a shadow, in the process, on the future of Muslim inhabitants of the area.

Readers would recall that Shafikul Islam, who hailed from Salnabori village in Nagaon district, was arrested for alleged public drinking on the night of May 20 and taken to a hospital. While the police claim he died in hospital due to excessive drinking, Islam’s family alleged that he was killed in custody after he refused to pay a bribe.

The family claims that he was stopped by the Batadraba police when he was on his way to Shivsagar and asked to pay a bribe of Rs 10,000 and a duck. While his wife arranged for the duck, she was unable to arrange for the money. She claims this led to the policemen beating Shafikul in front of her. She rushed to arrange for the money, but by the time she returned he had been taken to Nagaon Civil Hospital. When she and other family members reached the hospital, they found his body in a morgue. Angry family members and fellow villagers then took the body to the Batadraba police station and held protests. Subsequently they set the police station on fire.

Shortly afterwards, the district administration undertook an anti-encroachment drive in his village and demolished homes of at least three persons accused of burning down the police station.

After heart-rending images of crying children from evicted families started appearing in the news and on social media, Jayanta Malla Baruah, who is the Political Secretary to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, was quoted by local media as saying, “Don’t show any sympathy towards criminals. A criminal is a criminal.” Baruah who is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Nalbari, further said, “Don’t do any advocacy against the demolition of any criminal’s house.

Those who trying to capture the Assam, don’t create any sympathy for those people and the plight of their children. Original citizens and their children will get the legal rights.” And then in a bizarre attempt to conflate the identities of the people accused of burning the police station with cow smugglers and sundry anti-social elements, he said, “Those who are linked with Batadraba incident, will turn out to be cow smugglers, dacoit and drugs mafia in the end.”

One cannot ignore how cow-smuggling is a common charge levelled against Muslims, a beef-eating community, and how people accused of one crime are being associated with another without any actual basis, just because of their religion.

But it did not stop there. Shrinkhal Chaliha, leader of the Veer Lachit Sena and a serial hate offender, then demanded that the family of the deceased not be paid any compensation. Chalihas was quoted by local media as saying, “People are asking that shouldn’t the Rs 1 lakh be given to build the police staion, instead of giving it to the family?” He further demanded a judicial inquiry against All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Aminul Islam, a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Dhing, who had visited the village and allegedly riled up people.

But he did not stop there. Calling the deceased fisherman’s family and friends “Jihadi”, Chaliha demanded that they should be “encountered” instead.

“We have come to know that they were Jihadi. If so, police should encounter such people,” he said.

An “encounter” is an extra-judicial killing where police officer shoot people dead, usually in transit, claiming they were trying to escape. It is alleged that such encounter killings are on the rise in Assam. It is noteworthy that allegations of encounter killing have come up in case of the mysterious death of Ashikul Islam, the alleged mastermind of the Batrapada police station burning incident. Ashikul was reportedly killed in a car accident on May 29 in Raidongia in Nagaon district after being arrested from his home in Juria. The incident took place when he was being taken to the Nagaon police station. Police claim he attempted an escape and jumped out of the police vehicle. He was hit by the escort vehicle coming from behind.

Leena Doley, Superintendent of Police (SP), told newspersons, “We conducted search operations at Ashiqul Islam’s residence at Sonaibera after he had admitted that he kept arms and ammunition hidden in his house. We seized a 7.62 mm pistol, a .22 pistol, seven rounds of ammunition and the red t-shirt he was wearing during the incident. We also seized his mobile phone.” She added, “When we were bringing him back to the police station, he was injured after he was accidentally hit by the escort vehicle after he tried to escape from the police vehicle. The sub-inspector, constable who was the driver and one home guard has also been injured in the incident. However, after being admitted at the hospital, Islam succumbed to his injuries.”

Meanwhile, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam has now joined Congress Legistaure Party leader Debabrata Saikia in demanding a judicial inquiry into the entire matter. Saikia told Time8, “We have seen many accused die in a police encounters while they are being taken for identification of location or scene of crime etc. Sometimes, I wonder whether there is an anti-Assam element in Assam police who try to prevent the investigation process, as with the death of the accused persons many truths may not come out and as a result we may not be able to unearth the details of how some elements are working against the interests of Assam.”

Aminul Islam concurred saying, “If Ashiqul Islam, the accused was the mastermind in the Batadrava incident, then I urged a judicial enquiry into the incident under the supervision of a justice of the High court.”

But Choliha’s hateful diatribe did not stop with the open call for an “encounter”. He further said, “We have already stated that we’ll not let the Assam neither be another Kashmir nor Tripura. Only indigenous people should have the power in Assam.” Then as if to tone down his communal tenor, he added, “We are saying it clearly that Assam is neither a place for Jihadi nor a place for Hindu extremists.”

This allowed him to segue into a critique of the state government. “This government has completely failed to protect this Jati Mati Bheti. It is threatening to the whole community.”

But soon enough he was back to talking about action against the Batradaba police station arsonists. “Strict action should be taken against them and they should be given stringent punishment, so that nobody dares to pelt stones at a police station in the future,” he said. “We have already said that every action should have a reaction. If the police would have reacted that day, this day wouldn’t come possibly. We are telling the government that it’s time to react,” he added. By “reaction”, what Chaliha is actually demanding is a violent retaliation, and this makes the Muslim villagers of the area even more vulnerable.  

This is not Shrinkhal Chaliha’s first hateful rodeo either. In October last year, he had demanded that an eviction drive be carried out in Mayang in Morigaon district of Assam, accusing the local population of being encroachers, he further claimed that they were “increasing influence and suppressing indigenous people.” It is noteworthy that Morigaon has a substantial Muslim population. Thus, without actually pointing towards the community, Chaliha virtually made them out to be non-indigenous.

Chaliha had also reportedly asked a non-Assamese shop keeper in Shivsagar to shut down his shop in September 2021, leading singer-activist Zubeen Garg to call him “brishrinkhal”. Shrinkhal means disciplined in Assamese, while brishrinkhal means one who lacks discipline. Chaliha had been caught on camera threatening to use hengdang (a traditional Ahom double-edged sword) on the man who was unable to pay rent to the indigenous widow who owned the shop.

In late January 2022, as many as 12 members of Chaliha’s Veer Lachit Sena were arrested – seven on charges of extortion and threatening a businessman in Golaghat, and five for assaulting a Bengali youth in Morigoan. At that time, Chaliha had proudly proclaimed that jail was their “second home’’ and that they would continue to work for their motherland.

Related:

Assam: Police station burnt down after fish-seller’s alleges custodial death, bulldozers flatten attacker’s homes

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Assam Police will book five of the six people accused of setting ablaze a police station in Nagaon district under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for “suspected terror links” reported the Indian Express on May 24, 2022.

Wife of fish-seller Safikul Islam and her minor daughter accused the local police of killing Islam for failing to produce a bribe of ₹ 10,000. An angry mob gathered outside the police station following which, there are viral videos of people setting fire to the place.

Nagaon Superintendent of Police Leena Doley told The Indian Express that the videos show both women engaged in the crime. Others accused are also members of the deceased’s family. While the adults will face charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the daughter will be tried as per the rules of the Juvenile Justice Act. The UAPA case was registered under the Dhing police station, which has jurisdiction over the village of the accused.

According to Indian Express, the police suspected the family to have links with the the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a proscribed Bangladeshi terrorist organisation. The paper said that at least 10 people in Barpeta and Bongaigaon districts were arrested for such alleged links. The NIA is also probing the case, said Doley. However, the forensic report on Islam’s death is not ready yet.

Islam was arrested on Friday night for alleged public drinking. Police claim he died since he was unwell. However, his wife said that the officials asked for a duck and ₹ 10,000 to release him. Failing this, she said the police beat him in front of her.

After the incident made local news, Opposition leaders from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the Congress visited the village on May 23 and condemned the BJP-led government and demanded a judicial inquiry.

Meanwhile, the police have filed a case of “unnatural death” in Islam’s case, although the family accuses officials of custodial murder. Islam’s family lost their house in a demolition drive shortly after the arson. Yet, the police claim that the eviction was part of a routine process.

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The post Assam: UAPA charges filed against family of fisherman who was killed in police custody appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An allegedly arbitrary arrest of a Muslim man in Assam sparked violence in Nagaon district. Most recently, homes of at least three persons were demolished by bulldozers after they were accused of being part of a mob that burnt down a local police station.

According to India Today, fish-seller Safiqul Islam was on his way to Sivasagar district on the night of May 20, 2022, when the Batadrava police stopped him and allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹ 10,000 and a duck from him. They took him to the hospital and demanded that same from his family members. However, his wife was unable to produce the money. The police then allegedly assaulted Islam in front of his wife. She rushed to arrange for the money but was informed later that Islam was admitted to the district civil hospital. But when she reached the hospital with other members of the family, they only found Shafikul’s body in the morgue.

Accusing the police of custodial murder, the family took his body to the police station and started protesting. Viral videos show the family eventually setting the place on fire. According to India Today, two policemen were injured in the incident. By Monday, 21 people were arrested for arson. The Telegraph reported that a special Investigation Team (SIT) will soon be constituted to inquire into the fire while another probe will investigate the allegations of custodial death.

Yet, on the same day, the district administration launched an eviction drive against encroachers in Salnabori village – where same people live who allegedly set the police station on fire. A senior police officer claimed the huts were demolished as part of an anti-encroachment drive. Assam’s Special DGP (Law and Order) GP Singh told NDTV that the dwellers had used forged documents to live on encroached land. He indirectly confirmed that the bulldozers were sent as a retaliatory measure, telling the Indian Express, “We have ordered an independent probe into the alleged custodial death, and if any officer is found guilty, we will take strong action. But such an allegation does not mean you set fire to a police station. You don’t target the police and expect nothing to happen.”

The sudden demolitions of Muslim-minority areas has become a worrying trend in India, especially given how they were used as a retaliatory measure. After the Khargone demolition that occurred after Ram Navami violence, such sudden evictions were reported in the national capital Delhi as well. Before Nagaon, there was an attempt to demolish structures in Shaheen Bagh, known for the anti-CAA protests in 2019. Needless to say there was outrage with civil society groups and activists pointing out the pattern, accusing the Assam police of using the anti-encroachment drive as retaliation.

Perhaps forced to play on the backfoot now, Assam’s Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta then accused Islam of public drinking in a social media post. Mahanta wrote that the man was lying on a public road before he was brought in. He also refuted claims of beating and murder and said that Islam died due to “sickness”.

At the same time, he said that the officer in-charge during the incident has been removed from the police station. As for the arson, he accused the state police chief and said the preparedness of the mob to set fire implied an organised attack by trained outfits. He promised strict action on those who tried to “escape Indian justice system by burning down Police Stations”.

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In a bid to ensure greater transparency in how the police conduct their operations, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has joined hands with different organisations of lawyers, farmers and workers, and submitted a memorandum to the Assam Police urging for the installation of CCTV cameras in all police stations.

CJP joins illustrious organisations such as Forum for Social Harmony, AsomMajuri Sramik Union, All India Kishan Mazdoor Sabhaand some local lawyers in this effort. Together we have written to the Director General of Police (DGP) of Assamhighlighting the Supreme Court’s December 2020 judgement mandating installation of CCTVs in police stations.

In December 2020, Supreme Court mandated installation of CCTVs in police stations, giving specific directions on storage of the information thus collected. It also specified locations in police station where such CCTVs should be installed. In July, the Assam Human Rights Commission took suo moto cognizance of 23 people shot at while in police custody, with five dead, since Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma took over on May 10.

In light of this, a memorandum has been sent by lawyers and concerned civil society organisationsto the DGP of Assam, bringing to his attention the judgment passed by the Supreme Court on December 3, 2020 in Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh (SLP Crl. No. 3543 of 2020) mandating installation of CCTV cameras in police stations.

The signatories of this memo are:

• From Citizens for Justice and Peace: Advocate Abhijeet Chaudhury, Advocate Abdur Rahim, Nanda Ghosh and HabibulBepari

• From Forum for Social Harmony,Assam: Har Kumar Goswami and Shanti Ranjan Mitra

• From AsomMajuri Sramik Union: Mrinal KantiShome andAshit Chakraborty

• From All India Kishan Mazdoor Sabha:  Faruk Laskar andDebajit Choudhary

The memorandum highlights the importance of this judgement as also the importance of CCTVs to be installed as this allows to record the treatment of persons detained and the conduct of such persons as well as of the officials on duty which further allows scrutiny. The memo points out that not only will the installation of CCTVs in police station help and independently assist an inquiry into custodial deaths but will also act as a deterrent for unwarranted and disproportionate use of power by police upon detainees/accused persons.

The court has also directed that compliance reports be submitted by state to disclose the exact position of CCTV cameras in each Police Station.

Court’s directions

The specific directions of the Supreme Court are as follows:

• The duty and responsibility for the working, maintenance and recording of CCTVs shall be that of the SHO of the police station concerned.

• The SHO of a police station is to inform the DLOC if there is any fault with the equipment or malfunctioning of CCTVs and if CCTVs are not functioning, “the concerned SHO shall inform the DLOC of the arrest / interrogations carried out in that police station during the said period and forward the said record to the DLOC”.

• The Director General/Inspector General of Police of each State and Union Territory should issue directions to the person in charge of a Police Station to entrust the SHO of the concerned Police Station with the responsibility of assessing the working condition of the CCTV cameras installed in the police station and also to take corrective action to restore the functioning of all non-functional CCTV cameras.

• The SHO should also be made responsible for CCTV data maintenance, backup of data, fault rectification etc.

The court even specified the specific locations within the police stations where such CCTV are to be installed, including but not limited to:

• all entry and exit points

• main gate of the police station;

• all lock-ups;

• all corridors;

• lobby/the reception area; 

• all verandas/outhouses,

• Inspector’s room; Sub-Inspector’s room;

• areas outside the lock-up room; station hall;

• in front of the police station compound;

• outside (not inside) washrooms/toilets;

• Duty Officer’s room;

• back part of the police station etc.

Additional guidleines pertaining to CCTVs are as follows:

• CCTV systems that have to be installed must be equipped with night vision and must necessarily consist of audio as well as video footage.

• The internet systems that are provided must also be systems which provide clear image resolutions and audio.

• Most important of all is the storage of CCTV camera footage which can be done in digital video recorders and/or network video recorders.

• CCTV cameras must then be installed with such recording systems so that the data that is stored thereon shall be preserved for a period of 18 months.

IMPORTANT: If the recording equipment, available in the market today, does not have the capacity to keep the recording for 18 months but for a lesser period of time, it shall be mandatory for all States, Union Territories and the Central Government to purchase one which allows storage for the maximum period possible and in any case, not below 1 year.

Once a complaint is made about custodial violence/death, the State Human Rights Commission/Human Rights Court can then immediately summon CCTV camera footage in relation to the incident for its safe keeping, which may then be made available to an investigation agency in order to further process the complaint made to it.

The Supreme Court also said in its order, “It is also required that at the entrance and inside the police stations there is a prominent display that the premises are covered by CCTV. This shall be done by large posters in English, Hindi and vernacular language (Assamese, Bengali among others in Assam).”

It further said, “The prominent display outside the police station must also mention that a person has a right to complain about human rights violations to the National/State Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Court or the Superintendent of Police or any other authority empowered to take cognisance of an offence.”

Additionally, the SC said, “The display outside the police station shall further mention that CCTV footage is preserved for a certain minimum time period, which shall not be less than six months, and the victim has a right to have the same secured in the event of violation of his human rights.”

The Hon’ble Supreme Court also made a special note that since these directions are in furtherance of the fundamental rights of each citizen of India guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and since nothing substantial has been done in this regard for a period of over 2½ years since its first order dated April 3, 2018, the Executive/Administrative/police authorities are to implement this Order both in letter and in spirit as soon as possible.

Background of the case

On November 22, 2016, Justice Fateh Deep Singh of the Punjab & Haryana High Court held that illegal detention of petitioner’s sons by the Police was a violation of their Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution. (Baljit Singh &Ors vs State of Punjab CRWP No. 1245 of 2016)

In 2020, a Special leave Petition in Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh (SLP Crl. No. 3543 of 2020)was filed before the top court in pursuance of the same matter, focusing on the larger question of installing CCTVs in police stations. In September 2020, the Bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee, decided to implead all States and Union Territories (UT’s) in the matter to seek their responses on the exact position of installation of CCTV cameras.

The December 2020 judgement in Paramvir Singh casem the bench makes mention of the 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court (Shafi Mohammad v. State of Himachal Pradesh (2018) 5 SCC 311), by Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Adarsh Kumar Goel, had directed every State to have an oversight mechanism where an independent committee can study the CCTV camera footages and periodically publish report of its observations.

NCRB figures

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in its reports from 2005 to 2018, revealed that 500 deaths of persons in remand were reported out of which, 281 cases were registered, 54 policemen were charge-sheeted. Interestingly, not a single policeman was convicted during that period. Also, 700 deaths of persons before remand were reported out of which, 312 cases were registered, 132 persons were charge-sheeted and merely 7 persons were convicted during such a long period of 13 years.

In the period between 2014 to 2019, 33 persons (6.1% of the 537 who died in police custody) died due to injuries sustained during custody due to physical assault by police, as per NCRB report. In 2019, two of a total 85 (2.4%) deaths in police custody were attributed to assault by police.

The Supreme Court, in all its wisdom has issued these directives to eventually reduce incidents of custodial violence and deaths which have been notoriously on the rise in the past few years. Sine the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not record incidents of custodial violence, they remain unreported and if such mechanisms of CCTVs are put in place, accountability amongst police officials will increase.

Thus, this memorandum is pertinent in this regard to ensure compliance by Assam Police and to ensure that no incidents of custodial violence and death go unreported and to bring justice to the victims of these crimes by public officials.

The SC judgement may be read here:

The memorandum may be read here:

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The post Install CCTVs in police stations: CJP to Assam Police appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One of the most gut-wrenching images from the September 23 police firing on evicted families in Assam, was that of an unconscious young boy with a blood-soaked shirt. That young boy was 12-year-old Sheikh Farid who succumbed to a hail of bullets fired by the Assam Police. It is now learnt that he was only there, as he was on his way back from an Aadhaar centre.

“He had gone to the Dhalpur Aadhaar centre. He was on his way back when the police shot him dead,” says Amir Hussain, brother of Sheikh Farid.

The boy, a resident of Kirakara village of the Dhalpur region, was one of the two people shot dead by Assam Police personnel who opened fire on people protesting eviction from Gorukhuti village that falls in the Sipajhar circle of Darrang District of Assam.

“We didn’t even know that he had been shot until the Facebook video began circulating,” recalls Hussain, adding, “After that, the entire family has been in shock.” Sheikh Farid’s parents, Khalek Ali and Golbhanu, have not been able to utter a single word since the day their son died! “What can they say? Their hearts are broken,” says Hussain.

The evictions, demolitions of the modest huts of deeply impoverished families and the eventual violent crackdown by the police, are all being seen by rights groups and civil society as a form of ethnic cleansing. Almost all families left homeless amidst a raging Covid-19 pandemic and the punishing monsoon season in this flood-prone riverine region of Assam, hail from the Bengali-speaking Muslim minority community.

CJP, has been working on the ground in Assam since 2017, to help our fellow Indians of all faiths navigate the complex citizenship crisis, so that nobody is victimised, especially on account of socio-economic backwardness. During our work, we have discovered how Bengali-speaking minorities are the most vulnerable as many are dubbed “Bangladeshi” or “foreigner” by a xenophobic regime.

Bengali-speaking Muslims stand at the intersection of two persecuted groups and are thus targeted with impunity by a regime that gains strength by fostering division instead of unity. Which is why, the forced removal of Bengali Muslims from a place where their families have lived for 40-50 years, seems motivated. But is someone who shoots a child dead, merely motivated, or full of hate and drunk on power?

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Crowd control by Police: How much force is too much force?
Assam Police Firing: Who are “encroachers” and who are “indigenous”?
Assam Police Firing: People across India demand justice for evicted families
Assam Police Firing: Support for victims grows
Assam Police Firing: Death toll rises, victim blaming rampant
Police firing in Assam: Illegal and unforgivable
BREAKING: 2 killed, 10 injured in police firing in Assam

The post Assam Police Firing: 12-year-old shot dead while returning home from Aadhaar centre! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Support continues to build for victims and survivors of the police firing that took place in Gorukhuti village of the Dhalpur region of Sipajhar circle in Darrang district of Assam on Thursday. Demonstrations expressing solidarity were held in Delhi, Aligarh and Kolkata, apart from different places in Assam

Members of the All India Students Association (AISA) of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The held placards demanding an end to communally charged eviction, as well as the removal of Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma, who is incidentally the brother of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Students of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) also held a protest demanding “an immediate end to attacks on Muslims in Assam”, adding that the “forceful evictions were unacceptable.” The protest march took place on the university campus and student representatives handed over a memorandum to the city magistrate.

Farmers too have thrown their support behind the families evicted from their homes in Darrang. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has decided to send a delegation to Assam to take stock of the situation on the ground.

The CPL-ML also held a protest March in Kolkata. Carrying posters demanding “Stop killing of Muslims in Assam”, protesters drew attention to the plight of the victims and survivors. “We all saw in the video, that how a helpless man with nothing but a stick and who was trying to protect his home, was shot at and beaten brutally in complete violation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by the Assam Police,” said protesters, adding, “They had murderous intentions. But it did not end when the man fell down after being shot. A photographer hired by the district administration was then allowed to further physically assault him!” Protesters also demanded that merely arresting the photographer, Bijoy Bania, and later discharging him on bail, will not be enough. Several other groups including the Jaitya Bangla Sanmilan and National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations, also participated in the protest march in Kolkata.

Some images of the protests may be seen here: 

Meanwhile, an unrepentant Himanta Biswa Sarma remained defiant and told mediapersons in Guwahati yesterday, “They call me Talibani, but can we leave Assam like this? Should we allow them to encroach on Shiva temple land? Next, they will encroach on the Kamakhya temple land.” The communal spin to a human tragedy did not go unnoticed.

He shot down demands for relocation saying, “Those who come from Baghbor and Sarukhetri, they have their own land at home. So why should I give them lands? It’s not my own land that I’ll give anyone I want. But those who are landless, I’ll give them 6 bighas of land as per the Land Act of Assam. And I have been saying this for two months!”

He asked, “Why should I fire the District Collector and SP of Darrang when they were operating under my orders?” He tried to blame “outsiders” who he claimed had instigated locals to attack the police, forcing them to fire in retaliation. Sarma only conceded that the actions of Bijoy Bania were wrong and tried to deflect the entire matter by saying that he had been arrested.

Related:

Assam Police Firing: Support for victims grows
Assam Police Firing: Death toll rises, victim blaming rampant
Police firing in Assam: Illegal and unforgivable
BREAKING: 2 killed, 10 injured in police firing in Assam

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A day after at least two people were killed and ten injured when police opened fire on people protesting eviction from their homes in Gorukhuti village of the Dhalpur region of Darrang district in Assam, people have come out to express solidarity with the victims and survivors of the barbaric attack.

Members of the state’s Congress party took to the streets in Darang district’s headquarters in Mangaldoi city, chanting slogans against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“We demand the immediate transfer of the District Collector and Superintendent of Police as he is the CM’s own brother for transparency in the enquiry,” said Rajya Sabha member and Congress leader Ripun Borah, referring to the judicial inquiry ordered by the state government.

Due to public outcry @mygovassam ordered Judicial enquiry under a rtd. Judge of GHC to enquire into #PoliceBrutality of Dholpur.
We demand the IMMEDIATE TRANSFER of the DC & SP(being CM’s own brother) of Darrang Dist. for transparency in the enquiry.@himantabiswa#AssamHorror

— Ripun Bora (@ripunbora) September 24, 2021

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi has demanded “swift action” against the perpetrators and “compensation” for the families of the dead and injured. He has also called for an immediate end to demonisation and displacement of Bengali Muslims.

-Rehabilitate all the displaced families

-Stop demonising Indian citizens & calling them Bangladeshi

We know from past experience that even these basic demands will not be met. At the very least, we will make it a point to remember Haque sb. 2/n

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 24, 2021

Meanwhile the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) had called for a 12-hour bandh in Assam that beagn at 5 AM on Friday. According to NDTV, “No untoward incident has been reported” during this period when all business establishments remained closed and very few vehicles plied on the road.

Meanwhile, security has also been stepped up particularly in Gorukhuti where the firing took place yesterday and nearby villages of Dhalpur 1 and 3, that fall in the Sipajhar circle of Darrang District. Sources tell SabrangIndia that as many as 3,000 personnel belonging to the Assam Police and the CRPF have been deployed.

Meanwhile, the injured are being treated at the Guwahati Medcal College Hospital (GMHC) where they were shifted on Thursday night. Hospital Superintendent Abhijit Sharma told NDTV that 11 people were admitted there, including three police personnel. The state of three civilians and one policeman is said to be critical.

Land politics, communalism and NRC

One of the biggest poll planks for the BJP government was the promise of evicting “illegal encroachers” from government land and then redistributing it among “indigenous youth” to encourage “community farming”. Land is a precious commodity in the riverine regions of Assam with 7 percent of the land having been lost to river erosion.

Add to this, the allegations of an influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants and the anti-minority politics of the ruling regime and what you get is the perfect cocktail of hate and fear. This is why, despite the inhumanity of the police firing, right-wing machinery is still actively blaming the victims in this case. Some websites are also spinning the narrative of “temple land”.

For example, OpIndia claimed, “Sources in the Assam government said that Dholpur is an area with 25000 acres of land along with a 5,000 years old Shiva temple and a cave.”

Assam Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Singhal also added to the temple narrative, tweeting, “Our Govt led by HCM Himanta Biswa Sarma is committed to safeguard the 5000 years old Heritage Hindu Temple of Garukhuti, Sipajhar, Darrang Dist. We pledge to work for Encroachment Free Assam freeing all our ancient structures and temples which are captured by illegal immigrants.

Our Govt led by HCM @himantabiswa is committed to safeguard the 5000 years old Heritage Hindu Temple of Garukhuti, Sipajhar, Darrang Dist.

We pledge to work for Encroachment Free Assam freeing all our ancient structures and temples which are captured by illegal immigrants.

— Ashok Singhal (@TheAshokSinghal) September 23, 2021

This is clearly an attempt to cause communal polarisation. However, Assam has a rich history of pluralism and people practicing Hinduism, Islam and many different Adivasi and indigenous faiths have coexisted peacefully here for centuries. Perhaps the regime is frustrated by this unity and its minions in the news and social media are therefore going into an overdrive to cause communal friction.

But Owaisi wants to set the record straight. Defending the evicted families Owaisi tweeted, “People have been living in the river islands of Dhalpur, Darrang for at least 40-50 years, many since 1960s. As there was vacant land in river islands, erosion affected Muslims from lower Assam moved there. Over 7% of Assam landmass has been eroded by Brahmaputra since 1950 It’s a convenient & false narrative that the displaced are “illegal migrants”, they’re all Indian.”

He also touched upon the subject of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), accusing the government of forcefully displacing Bengali speaking Muslims despite their names being included in the NRC. “Their names are in 1951 NRC & 1966, 1970-71 voter lists. Their names now appearing in NRC is seen as huge slaps on the face of “anti-foreigner movement” NRC 2019 demolished the myth of illegal migration, all these decades they said there are 5-7m illegal migrants in Assam. But NRC excluded “only” 1.9m – out of which Muslims will be around 4-5L, that too mostly women & children – which means almost every excluded individual has family members in NRC. The reason to demand “re-verification” of NRC is also this failure to exclude “enough” Muslims.” He added, “Since they couldn’t exclude “enough” Muslims, they want to punish Bengali Muslims by displacing them.”

Support grows for Assam firing victims

Meanwhile, Assam units of CPI (M), CPI, CPI (ML), Asom Gana Morcha and RJD met at the State Office of the CPI under the chairmanship of the CPI (M) State Secretary Deben Bhattacharyya on September 23. The Parties jointly issued a statement condemning the inhuman eviction drive. They said, “The five parties register their strong protest and condemn the police brutalities and firing in the name of evictions being conducted by the Darrang district administration yesterday, September 23.” Additionally, “The five Parties also demand adequate compensations to the families of those killed and injured. The Parties demand that all evictions in the State without proper rehabilitation be stopped forthwith.”

The have also taken umbrage to how the “barbaric eviction drive at Dholpur-Gorukhuti area was started in the name of proposed Gorukhuti Agricultural Project and freeing the government land from ‘illegal encroachment’ being occupied by ‘suspected illegal migrants’ as stated by the government administration.” They go on to condemn how “the State administration branded those local Muslim people who have been residing in the area for several decades as ‘suspected foreigners’ and ‘illegal encroachers of government land’,” adding, “The administration has evicted Muslim families of the locality in most inhuman manner and the eviction drive is communally designed, illegal and unconstitutional.”

Activists and civil society have thrown their weight behind the victims and survivors of the brutal attack:

Godi Modia Kudi media pic.twitter.com/yceDTNQzXC

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 24, 2021

● Where is Human Rights?
● Where is Amnesty India ?
● Where is NHRC?#MuslimLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/ruBC5gnE66

— Hansraj Meena (@HansrajMeena) September 23, 2021

ख़ुद शहंशाह के घर से निकली है,
नफ़रत की ये जो हवा है।

मेरे मुल्क़ में इंसाफ़,
अब बस एक अफ़वाह है। #HindutvaStateTerror

Illustration @mirsuhail pic.twitter.com/wzShlWJPUB

— सुशांत सिंह sushant singh ‏سشانت سنگھ (@sushant_says) September 24, 2021

Related:

Assam Police Firing: Death toll rises, victim blaming rampant
Police firing in Assam: Illegal and unforgivable
BREAKING: 2 killed, 10 injured in police firing in Assam

The post Assam Police Firing: Support for victims grows appeared first on SabrangIndia.

After the inhuman act of evicting impoverished families hailing from the minority community and demolishing their modest homes in the Darrang district of Assam, the administration stooped even lower on Thursday. Police opened fire at those protesting the evictions, killing two people and injuring 10. 

Images sent by eye-witnesses present on the spot show how instead of firing only below the knee as is mandated by law, police opened fire on the upper bodies of protesters. Images available with SabrangIndia show bullet injuries to the chest, stomach and even the face and head of people. Some of the injured also appear to be just teenagers.

The discourse is now tipping towards how much force is too much force. Ideally speaking, the force used by the police should be proportionate to that of the protesters. There are several crowd control measures that the police can employ before having to resort to extreme measures such as opening fire. Taking such extreme steps certainly amounts to violation of human rights, and the police need to be held accountable. 

However, the modes of holding the police responsible for such acts are limited due to the vast powers and the immunity granted to them under all laws via the clause of “acts done in good faith”. Yet, it is pertinent to look at what our laws and police reforms say about crowd controlling powers of the police as also the international standards on the same.

Provisions in Indian criminal law

The Code of Criminal Procedure consists of a couple of provisions to deal with unlawful assemblies. Section 129 deals with Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force and states that the officer in charge of the police station can command the assembly to disperse. If they do not heed, the police officer can disperse the crowd or if necessary arrest and confine persons in the assembly.

Section 130 deals with use of force using arms to disperse assembly, but under sub-section 3 states, “He (Police officer) shall use as little force, and do as little injury to person and property, as may be consistent with dispersing the assembly and arresting and detaining such persons.”

Section 131 deals with power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly which allows use of armed forces when public security is manifestly endangered by any assembly and it allows the armed forces to arrest and confine any persons forming part of it or punish them according to the law.

Further, Section 99 of the Indian penal Code (IPC) elaborates upon which situations cannot be used to justify “right of private defence”. It states that if there is no apprehension of death or grievous hurt, a public servant’s act in good faith may not be justified by law. “The right of private defence in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence,” it further states.

Code of Conduct for Indian Police

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 1985 released Code of Conduct for the Police in India which states under Clause 4: 

“In securing the observance of law or in maintaining order, the police should as far as practicable, use the methods of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force becomes inevitable, only the irreducible minimum force in required in the circumstances should be used.”

The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials adopted in 1979 states under Article 3 that Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.

Model Rules on the Use of Force by the Police against Unlawful Crowds adopted by the Inspectors General of Police Conference, 1964 state that minimum necessary force should be used to achieve the desired object. Force should be regulated according to the circumstances of each case. The object of such use of force is to disperse the assembly and no punitive or repressive considerations should be operative while such force is being used.

Assam Police Manual

Since the Assam Police is involved here, it is also important to look at the Assam Police Manual and what it says about managing crowds. 

Under section 47 (Part 1), the Manual speaks about dispersals of processions and inter alia states that it is not uncommon for the members of the procession to become violent with the slightest iota of provocation. So it is very much desired of the police to keep utmost restraint and should have a preconceived idea of the motivations and the elements mingled within the procession.

“A procession if peaceful and orderly even if some apparent elements of nuisance need not be policed, since repressive policing is by itself a threat to public tranquility. What is essential IS better appreciation of public psyche. The police have to be seen and to see themselves as protectors of liberty within the law,” its states.

Under section 49 it states that in ordinary cases where no serious opposition is expected, the constables should be armed with bamboo lathies. It also states that “when assemblies of the public are not permitted to carry weapons of offence, the police with their batons and lathies will be sufficiently equipped to -be able to maintain and enforce order even against large crowds” and that armed police should only be kept in reserve and only called out to disperse the crowd or to arrest them.

Under section 50, it states, “Where a police officer did not believe it necessary for the public security to disperse an assembly by firing on them; but nevertheless gave orders to shoot with the result that a man was shot dead, it was held that he did not act in good faith.” It further states, “Discretion in the use of deadly force demands self-control and where the police acquires a reputation for, hasty shooting they seem more likely to become victim of murder themselves. Since right to life is a fundamental human right, life should never be taken by a police officer even if he has a legal excuse, if he can resolve the problem without doing so.”

Immunity and impunity

The section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides immunity to public servants from prosecution for any misappropriate acts done by public servants which includes police personnel. Most cases of police brutality have to be brought to the notice of the judiciary directly by means of writ petitions and in some cases, the courts have awarded compensation to the victims of police excess and brutality. One wonders how is that adequate? There is a fine line between violation of human rights and a police officer acting in disposition of his duty. “I was just doing my duty” is the shield used by police men, unless the excess can be somehow proved and it can take years before any compensation is received, but in most cases, the police officer will complete his years of service and reap the benefits of being a public servant.

Although the Indian Police Act does penalise police for violation of duty or wilful breach or neglect of any rule or omission of duty under section 29, there is no specific section that deals with police brutality.

International Standards

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in 2004, released a booklet titled “Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police” the underlying principle of which is that police officials must respect human rights and must not do any action in derogation of such rights. The topics covered include non-discrimination in law enforcement, abiding by human rights in investigations, arrests, proportionate use of force, and detention. It also states how there should be accountability for use of force and forearms, permissible circumstances for use of force and firearms, and so on. In case of violation of human rights by police, it says that there should be a proper system in place for receipt of complaints against the police, the investigations of which should be transparent, thorough, impartial, prompt and competent. It also says that obedience to superior orders cannot be a defence for violations. While all these guidelines are ideal, they are also very idealistic and very difficult to be imposed in reality.

The UN also adopted Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in 1990 which asks governments to include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons. Under Clause 4, it states,

“Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.”

The other provisions include providing medical relief to the injured and exercising restraint in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved.

On use of firearms, it states that they should be used only in self defense or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury. In handling even unlawful assemblies which are non-violent use of force is not considered practicable.

Remedies

The only three practical and viable remedies that one has against police brutality are:

–  to file a complaint with the State Police Complaints Authority 

–  to file a writ petition at the High Court, or Supreme Court, whatever the case may be 

–  approach the State or National Human Rights Commission. 

All processes can prove to be long drawn as none are bound by a statutory time frame.

However, these violations need to be arrested and only true political will and some serious reforms in police administration at state and local level is capable of bringing about real change to avoid human rights violations.

Related:

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Farmers call Karnal lathicharge “Death of democracy!”

The post Police firing in Assam: Illegal and unforgivable appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Three sisters have accused the Assam police of custodial torture, which includes being stripped, kicked and beaten with lathis, inside a police outpost in Darrang district. The women were picked up after a case was registered against their brother, a Muslim, for allegedly abducting a Hindu woman.

Assam DGP Kuladhar Saikia told the media that the outpost in-charge sub-inspector Mahendra Sarma and a woman constable Binita Boro were suspended Tuesday and criminal cases registered against them. He has also asked for an inquiry into their allegations within a week. Unfortunately, cases were registered days after one sister, on September 10, wrote a detailed account of the incident in a complaint to police saying Sarma and Boro “stripped us naked, assaulted us and touched our private parts”.

The three sisters, aged 28, 30 and 18, were picked up at around 1.30 am on September 9 during a raid led by SI Sarma. Police claim the women were detained for questioning because a case was registered against their brother for allegedly abducting a Hindu woman.

The 28-year-old sister, who filed the complaint, said the assault continued until they were able to contact their brother, who, she said, was in Shillong with the Hindu woman. “He arrived with the girl at 6.30 am at the outpost. He asked them why we were tortured for a case against him. They beat him too. We believe the two of them (her brother and the woman) were involved in a relationship,” she said, adding that her brother is married but estranged from his wife.

Darrang SP Amrit Bhuyan said, “A case of kidnapping was registered by the family of the woman on September 6. The brother is now under arrest.” According to the 28-year-old sister, the Hindu woman and her brother were involved in a relationship  for almost two years.

Another sister said the family had “all the proof of the relationship and there was no kidnapping”. A Darrang district police officer said that after the Hindu woman returned, “she told police that she was taken forcibly”. According to the women, at the police outpost, Sarma, aided by Bodo, stripped and assaulted them, while their brother was jailed. The women also have photographs showing injuries all over their bodies.

Brutal slaps by the police! The 28-year-old woman, pointing to dark red patches on her cheeks, said they were caused by slaps from police. She told the media, “When we asked Sarma, why are you taking us, he pointed a pistol and said don’t ask too much. At the outpost, my husband was locked up and my sister was stripped and hit by a lathi first.”

“She has a problem in her left leg but they hit her on that leg as well. They hit her on the left leg. My elder sister was also assaulted. We told him she was pregnant, OC (Sarma) said, ‘don’t do acting’. After assaulting both of them, he targeted me and hit me.”

“We want justice. Sarma and Binita and the other 4-5 police personnel present at the outpost should be punished for what they did to us,” said the 28-year-old.

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