By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Langpih probe panel has provided a benchmark to tackle the agitating crowd by the police which can be used in future by those who are at the helm of affairs.
While criticizing the aggressive methods adopted by Assam Police and defending the indigenous people at Langpih, the Justice (retd) PC Phukan Commission observed that the crowd should have been controlled without firing at the villagers.
The Commission said that the altercation between some Khasis and Nepalis resulted in the attack on a Nepali youth and subsequently the roof of a tea stall of a Nepali woman was torched which was the cause of the commotion at the weekly Friday market at Lower Langpih on May 14, 2010 shortly after 12:30 pm.
“At that time, a few Assam Police Battalion (APBn) personnel in plain clothes were there for marketing. A Nepali youth who was assaulted, other Nepalis and the plain-clothed policemen present in the market ran towards the BOP of the APBn,” the Commission said, adding that the Khasis chased them and their number did not exceed 100.
According to the probe panel, the Khasis as well as people belonging to other communities used to come to the weekly Friday market at Lower Langpih from neighbouring hilly areas covered by jungle.
Dao (machete), a sharp cutting weapon, is their constant companion to protect themselves from wild animals, whenever necessary. It is not unusual for them to carry catapults for shooting stones to kill birds, the report said.
“On the day of the incident, also as on any other day, the Khasis visiting the market carried such articles like broken stones, marbles, earthen/glass balls, bamboo lathi, dao, catapults. They did not carry bow and arrow, very popular with Khasi villagers and much better than catapults as weapons for attack, the report added.
“They did not carry any fire arm. It does not stand to reason that they came prepared to attack the BOP manned by APBn personnel armed with sophisticated weapons including light machine guns with the crude weapons. True, some of the Khasis used the same articles while attacking the Nepalis and chasing them who ran towards the BOP, the Commission observed.
The report further said that most of the Nepalis and the plain-clothed policemen entered the BOP.
Following them, the Khasis, numbering around thirty, also entered the BOP breaking the bamboo gate and a portion of the boundary fencing.
Narrating what happened later, the Phukan panel said that one plain-clothed APBn constable Ashrof Ali was hit with a lathi by a Khasi youth in the market causing small injury to him before he could run and reach the BOP.
Six other APBn personnel sustained small injuries during the attack by the Khasis at the BOP.
During the attack by the Khasis, except Bhakta Bahadur Lama whose injury was of grievous nature, all other Nepalis numbering eleven sustained only small injuries.
On the other side, Budsharsing Lyngkhoi and Kolestar Jyrwa, two Khasis, were not hit by police bullets but sustained injuries in the incident.
Lyngkhoi reached near the BOP on his way to the market. Nothing incriminating was found from his procession when the police arrested him on being handed over by the Nepalis, the Commission said.
During the incident, Lower Langpih, BOP was manned by 26th Platoon of the 4th APBn headquartered at Kahilipara, Guwahati.
On May 14, 2010, Dr Bedanta Madhav Rajkhowa was the Commandant in- charge of 4th APBn and Armed Branch Sub-Inspector Prem Singh Limbu was the Platoon Commander of the 26th Platoon posted at the Lower Langpih BOP. There were a total 37 APBn personnel posted there.
Under the orders of the Platoon Commander, 2 Lance Naiks and 15 constables opened fire at the mob. All of them deposed before the Commission in this regard.
As regards the sequence of the firing incident, the sum and substance of their evidence is that the Platoon Commander warned the Khasi mob advancing towards the BOP chasing the Nepalis to disperse and not to advance further.
According to the Assam Police, without paying any heed to such warning, the Khasis gheraoed the BOP and started entering into the BOP by breaking the bamboo gate and fencing. “Then the APBn personnel opened blank fire in the air under the orders of the Platoon Commander. But that made the mob more violent and after entering the BOP they started attacking the APBn personnel and tried to snatch away arms from Constable Robijul Islam. Then the Platoon Commander ordered effective firing,” the Commission said quoting the version of Assam Police.
The APBn personnel fired 188 rounds in total. The firing continued at least for 10 minutes.
Incident at market place
However, the Commission said, “It is nobody’s case that after the APBn personnel opened effective fire, the Khasis also fired back or took any retaliatory action to justify firing of so many rounds for such long duration.”
Admittedly, after the effective firing, the.Khasis just filed away, the Commission said, adding that Rule 16 in Part 3 of the Assam Police Manual envisages that “Fire must cease on the first sign of dispersal of the mob”.
According to the Commission, it is in evidence that all the four Khasis who died in the police firing were fatally hit in the market place and that the injured witnesses Haiar Wahlong, Strickbar Snar, Pridolin Lynkhoi, Losping Nongphud, Anasteia Nongseij and Pranding Smaitang were all hit by bullets in the market place.
“This shows that the APBn personnel opened effective fire not aiming at those Khasis who were nearer to or in the BOP, but targeted those Khasis who were in the market place about 200 meters away from the BOP,” the Commission observed.
The report reiterated that there is not an iota of evidence on record to show that anyone of them harmed the BOP personnel or damaged the BOP property.
“To overpower hardly 100 Khasis of whom only 30 entered the BOP, 37 trained police personnel need not have to fire 188 rounds for ten minutes causing death of four persons and injury to several others,” the Commission asserted.
Quoting Section 99 of the Indian Penal Code, the Commission said, “The right of private defense in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defense.”
The report said that none other than an APBn constable Tridib Baruah told the Commission, “I did not open fire in self defense or to protect another person or to protect the property like bamboo fencing.”
Admittedly, the Platoon Commander initially ordered blank fire into the air.
Rule 115 (ii) in Part III of the Assam Police Manual prohibits blank fire. The rule reads: Fire must be effective from the first shot, the Commission said, adding that firing into the air or over the heads of the rioters is worse than useless and is prohibited.
“This, according to the police witnesses themselves, happened in the instant case. They said that the blank fire could not make the mob disperse. So the blank fire proved useless. They further said that the blank fire made the mob more violent. So the blank fire was worse than useless” the Commission added.
No warning
According to the Commission, the cross examination of several APBn constables revealed that before ordering effective fire, the Platoon Commander did not warn the mob that the APBn personnel would open effective fire at them except uttering the words Hat jao! Hat jao! Andar mat aao (Disperse, disperse! Do not enter). The note below rule 114 B(S) of the Assam Police Manual reads: The warning to the mob that effective firing will be opened, if necessary, must be as clear as possible.”
AM Buzarbaruah, the counsel appearing for Assam Government, had argued that there was no question of APBn personnel not following the provisions of the Assam Police Manual in the instant firing.
According to Baruah, the established procedure to be followed in case of attack on the BOP is provided not in the Assam Police Manual but in the guidelines contained in letter No.TAP/F/Border/01/395, Dated 23.11.2009 of the Additional Director General of Police (TAP), Assam.
The guideline no.14 reads: “One cannot wait till the enemy comes very near to the camp. Person/persons approaching the camp be challenged and if not heeded to the warning, firing must be resorted to.”
According to the Commission, by no stretch of imagination, the Khasis chasing the Nepalis towards the BOP can be said to be ‘enemy’ so far as the BOP is concerned. “They had quarrels with Nepalis and that is why they chased the Nepalis who ran towards the BOP. Hence the aforesaid guideline has no application in the instant case”, the Commission said, adding that the contents of the letter of the Additional Director General of Police (TAP) are only guidelines.
“Even without the rules containing Do’s and Don’ts in the Assam Police Manual referred to in the preceding paragraphs, the rules of natural justice require that when the police force opens effective firing, no matter such police force is brought from another place to control a mob elsewhere, or the Police Station or the BOP itself is under attack, the minimum force must be used, fire must cease on the first sign of dispersal of the mob, the warning to the mob that effective firing will be opened must be as clear as possible”, the Commission said.
The Commission further observed, “On the fateful day shortly after 12:30 pm, Lower Langpih market place and BOP premises and the space in between turned into a virtual battle ground – one side comprising not more than 100 ordinary people (hardly 30 of them entered into the BOP) with crude weapons like broken stones, lathi, dao, marbles/earthen balls and catapults for shooting such marbles, and the other side comprising 37 trained police men with sophisticated firearms like SLR, INSUS, light machine guns. Those people used catapults to shoot balls and pelted stones at the policemen. In return, they were showered with bullets from the police men’s guns.”
” What did they do to deserve instant death to four of them and bullet injuries to several others?” the Commission asked.
“They set fire to a thatched roof of an improvised tea stall. Only a very small portion of the roof was torched and it was easily and immediately extinguished. There was no other case of arson. They damaged a bamboo gate and the portion of fencing of the BOP. There was no other case of destruction of property, private or public. They inflicted simple injuries to eleven Nepalis and grievous injury to one. They inflicted small injuries to seven policemen and grievous injuries to none. The APBn personnel fired as many as 188 rounds for at least 10 minutes,” the report said.
“In any view of the matter, the firing at such scale and for such duration was excessive and unjustified in the circumstance prevailed”, the Commission added.