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Civilian dies in army custody

By Correspondent

BONGAIGAON, June 29 � A civilian, identified as Ratneswar Brahma (52), died on Sunday morning in a private hospital here, sustaining internal injuries after being picked up by the Army on the charge of being a linkman of a militant group.

Army personnel belonging to the 7 Sikh Light Infantry Regiment based at Panbari in Chirang district, had picked up Brahma from his residence at Borgaon near Ulubari in the district at around 10:30 pm on June 26 and took him to the Panbari camp without giving any reason for his detention to his family, Brahma�s cousin said.

Despite approaching the police and Army at Panbari on June 27, the family members could not find the whereabouts of Brahma. In the afternoon, the Army informed the family that they would release Brahma by 3 pm, a local resident said.

But instead of releasing Brahma, some Army personnel came to his home to take the signature of a family member as consent to doctors for Brahma�s surgery in the evening. Family members said, Brahma was admitted to a private hospital at Bongaigaon on June 27 afternoon in a critical state.

Brahma, who was in the intensive care unit of the private hospital, succumbed to his injuries at around 3:30 am on Sunday. As the news of his death spread, local residents of Borgaon came out on the roads and registered their strong protest against the atrocities on the innocent people by the Army in the name of militancy.

Brahma�s elder son Avinash (19) has, meanwhile, filed an FIR against the Army of Panbari camp at Bijni Police Station on Sunday. The family believes that Brahma died because of physical torture inflicted upon him by the Army while interrogating him in the camp.

However, the Army has denied this allegation and according to Suneet Newton, public relations officer of the Army, Brahma was an overground worker of the NDFB (S) and had links with G Bidai, the leader of the outfit. The Tata Sumo vehicle in which Brahma was taken to Panbari camp from his residence had developed mechanical fault on the way. When the jawans were trying to fix the fault of the vehicle, Brahma tried to escape by jumping out of the vehicle and thus he received injuries. Immediately, he was rushed to the hospital and on Sunday, he died under medical care due to internal injury, Newton said, adding, Brahma was also a patient of renal disorder.

�Brahma was a wage earner and had no connection with any militant groups,� claimed the local residents of Borgaon and said, �his two sons aged 19 and 17 years passed HSLC examination this year. His wife also works as a domestic help in the locality to run the family.�

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