Guwahati
The situation in the Upper Assam town of Doomdooma is still tense over the killing of Budheswar Moran, a tea garden night watchman, on May 5 this year by soldiers of J&K Rifles. In protest, people have blockaded National Highway 37 and the district administration has clamped an indefinite curfew in the area. The Army has admitted the killing of Moran was "unfortunate" and has ordered a probe to punish the guilty. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has also ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The Moran episode is reminiscent of the encounter death of Ajit Mahanta in February last year. Mahanta, a daily wage earner and resident of a village near Kakopathar in Tinsukia district, was picked up by the Army and his body was dumped outside a hospital in Dibrugarh. Mahanta's death triggered mass protests, and eight persons including crpf personnel were killed in the ensuing agitation.
The Indian Army has been under constant fire over allegations of rights violations, rape, torture of innocent civilians, sexual abuse and theft. The draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, continues to be in force across the region.
But are such incidents a natural outcome of long years of unresolved conflict? Monirul Hussain, a political scientist at the Gauhati University, says the State cannot absolve itself of its constitutional and moral responsibilities. "The State has a responsibility and a legitimacy and is bound by the Constitution. It cannot engage in killing of innocent people." He says those guilty of "secret killings" during the regime of former chief minister Prafulla Mahanta should be brought to book.
Bijon Mahajan, an advocate at the Gauhati High Court who mostly handles such cases against the Army, says, "Assam is a land of fake encounters, disappearances and custodial deaths. There have been several cases of human rights violations by the State machinery in the name of counter-insurgency operations and the courts have issued compensations for such abuses."
The 28-page book of rules urges soldiers to deal with situations carefully and with restraint, as they are dealing here with their "own people" and not with enemy soldiers. There are also special instructions on how to conduct oneself in situations involving women, including women militants.
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