SILCHAR, Jan 16 � The custodial death of Iqbal Hussain Laskar under mysterious circumstances took a new turn as the Gauhati High Court issued a show-cause notice to the Hailakandi Chief Judicial Magistrate recently. Fixing a three-week deadline to tender his answer, the High Court judge KM Meruno has asked Tarakeswar Lohar, the CJM to clarify his decision of handing over the case filed by Parul Majumdar, widow of Iqbal Hussain, back to Algapur police, though she had categorically accused the police itself of inaction. On October 9 last year, a group of Army jawans from Hailakandi�s Manipur-base camp, raided the house of Iqbal Hussain (41), a poultry trader.
They allegedly beat him up in front of his wife and daughters and later took him with them. The jawans paid that Iqbal had links with arms dealers and they were searching for the arms, which they could not however, recover.
Later in the day, the Army informed the family that Iqbal was sick and he was first taken to the Hailakandi Civil Hospital, from where he was shifted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Iqbal�s relatives reached the SMCH in the noon only to find him dead. Parul Majumdar lodged an FIR on the same day at the Algapur police station. On October 13, Parul Majumdar filed a case (CR Case number 105 C/70) with the CJM alleging that the Algapur police was dilly-dallying with the case. Surprisingly, the CJM sent the case back to Algapur police, which had allegedly amalgamated the new case with the previous FIR. Challenging this, Iqbal�s family filed a criminal case in the High Court (No. 496/10).
The High Court has issued a show-cause notice to the CJM. Eminent lawyer as well as former minister Abdul Muhib Majumdar was the advocate for Iqbal�s family. Muhib Majumdar�s associate AR Bhuiya said that Hailakandi�s Superintendent of Police in his affidavit virtually expressed his inability to book the accused Army jawans.
