GOALPARA, July 4 - The Goalpara police has registered a case no. 260/17 under Section 325/302/34 IPC, after Aminul Hoque Choudhury, president AAMSU, Goalpara district filed an FIR against the officer-in-charge Goalpara (Sadar) police station, Dimbeswar Roy and police constable, Anup Roy for their alleged excessive use of physical force in tackling a protest demonstration. The protesters were highlighting the problems of �D� voters at Kharbuza under Goalpara (Sadar) police station Friday last, leading to the death of a protester in the ensuing police firing.
While advocate Jiten Das airing resentment of some conscious citizens against the police said that even though the police denied permission to hold the rally , but the police did not follow the standard procedure for crowd control like the method of persuasion, advice or warning, and instead, used excessive force to disperse the group of protesters.
Since the entire situation was inflamed under the command of the officer-in-charge, Goalpara (Sadar), Dimbeshwar Roy and violated the Geneva Convention and additional protocol under humanitarian law, advocate Das demanded his immediate suspension and transfer of some of the senior police officials for non partisan and independent investigation.
Further he also pointed out that the police should have resorted to firing at the protesters as the last resort if tear gas, lathi-charge and other methods failed to disperse the crowd and that too the police should have secured the presence of a magistrate on the spot.
Our Staff Reporter in Guwahati adds: A 12-member delegation of the Assam Congress Legislature Party (ACLP) today visited the Khutimari residence of Late Yakub Ali, who died in an incident of police firing at Goalpara on June 30 last. The delegation also handed over an amount of Rs 50,000 to the family of Late Ali as a token of solidarity.
The delegation led by ACLP leader Debabrata Saikia met the Goalpara Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police and handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding stern action against the guilty police official, who opened fire on the agitating public without following the set procedures for the purpose.
It also demanded adequate compensation to the family of Yakub Ali and to extend all sorts of support to his orphaned children in matters of education, sustenance etc.
LDMA: The Left and Democratic Manch (LDMA), Assam has vehemently protested the brutalities perpetrated by the State police on the agitating public at Kharboja, Goalpara on June 30 last.
The Manch, an umbrella organisation of eleven political parties of the State, said in a statement here today that the agitating members of the public were protesting against the failure of the Government to resolve the vexed issue of �D� voters and demanding speedy completion of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updating. But, the police opened fire on them without any provocation. Police also charged baton on the agitating members of the public that day and in that incident also a number of people sustained injuries, said the Manch.
A judicial inquiry should be conducted to find out the truth behind the incident, it said and rejected the magisterial inquiry announced by the Goalpara district administration to probe the incident.
A joint meeting of the constituent parties of the Manch here last evening, which was presided over by senior leader of the CPI-M Uddhav Barman, decided to hold a sit-in demonstration from 11 am of July 7 on the bank of the Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati in protest against the June 30 Goalpara incident of police action on the agitating people.
It demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Yakub Ali, a judicial inquiry into the June 30 incident by a sitting judge of the Gauhati High Court and better medical treatment to those who sustained injuries in police actions that day, stern actions against those police officials who were involved in baton charge and opening fire on the agitating people that day, resolution of the issue of �D� voter and completion of the NRC updating process by December 31 next, among others.
