Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the All Assam Students’ Union on Monday welcomed an Army court’s recommendation to sentence seven personnel to life imprisonment for a 1994 fake encounter case, PTI reported. A senior Guwahati-based Army official on Sunday told Scroll.in that a major general was among those sentenced by the summary general court martial of the Army.
However, the verdict now needs to be confirmed by a “competent authority”, said a defence public relations officer. The personnel were accused of murdering five student activists in Dangari in Assam’s Tinsukia district in February 1994.
Those found guilty include Major General AK Lal, Colonels Thomas Mathew and RS Sibiren and Junior Commissioner Officers and Non Commissioner Officers Dilip Singh, Jagdeo Singh, Albindar Singh and Shivendar Singh. They can file appeals against the verdict before the armed forces tribunal and the Supreme Court.
The chief minister said the court’s recommendation will be a deterrent against such acts. “It is a welcome judgement,” Sonowal said. “The judgement will strengthen people’s faith in judiciary and the Army.”
Sonowal had sought an impartial inquiry when he was the All Assam Students’ Union president. The chief minister said the verdict will bring solace to the families of the victims. “The Army has also worked in a fair manner without any prejudice,” he added.
Dipanka Kumar Nath, the current president of the union, said justice has been served. “We are happy that we and the family members of our five victims are victorious in our legal battle,” Nath said. “We thank the legal system for giving justice.”
The union’s general secretary, Luringjyoti Gogoi, demanded government jobs for the victims’ families.
The fake encounter case
In 1994, the Dholla-based 18 Punjab Regiment picked up All Assam Students’ Union leaders Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal, Bhaben Moran, Matheswar Moran, Gunin Hazarika, Prakash Sharma and Manoranjan Das from different places in Doomdooma in Tinsukia between February 17 and 19, following the murder of a tea estate executive. Militants belonging to the United Liberation Front of Assam are believed to have carried out the murder.
The Army personnel reportedly took Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran near the Dangari river and gunned them down in a fake encounter. The Gauhati High Court, which heard a habeas corpus petition filed by a leader of the students’ union, ordered the Army to produce the nine activist at the nearest police station. However, the Army had brought the bodies of the five activists, triggering statewide protests.
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