From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Baksa district to institute a magisterial inquiry into the kidnapping and subsequent killing incident of a youth in the district in the wake of reported allegations that the youth was picked and allegedly killed by Army personnel. However, the Army has firmly denied its involvement in the incident.
According to an official source, the DC Baksa has already ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The inquiry will probe into the matter of kidnapping of three youths on December 21, 2012.
Among these three, one was found dead on December 23, 2012. One of the youth returned home while the other is still missing.
The magisterial inquiry will look into the whole matter of alleged kidnapping and murder and the report will be submitted soon.
Recovery of a body of one of the three youths allegedly picked up by Army from Narayanpur Bazar in Baksa on December 21, has created public outcry in the State. Three youths were picked up by a team in olive green fatigue from Narayanpur village.
While the body of one of the youth, Rajib Basumatary, has been recovered another youth Rajkumar Rabha has survived with multiple injuries.
The whereabouts of the third youth, Kundan Basumatary, who is a member of Baksa district Youth BPF, is not known. Rabha alleged they were constantly asked about illegal weapons and tortured.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued to the media the Army who is involved in counter insurgency operation in Assam, has dismissed as baseless the reported allegations of involvement of Army in ‘picking up’ of three youths namely Kundan Basumatary, Rajib Basumatary and Rajkumar Rabha from Village-Narayanpur in Tata Sumo Vehicle on 21 December 2012 and subsequent killing of one youth named Rajib Basumatary.
Defence spokesman Colonel S S Phugot has termed the allegations ‘totally false and baseless with the intent to malign the image of the Army’.
The Army statement says ,“It has been clarified that there was no involvement of Army/ Army personnel in the case and no operations were launched in general area Narayanpur, PS Mushalpur, district Baksa on 21 December, 12 between the timings as alleged in reports published in a section of the media.
Indian Army conducts all its operations in transparent environment and in presence of representatives of Assam Police. Indian Army always stands in times of crisis with common people of Assam and strongly condemns such acts of violence against the ‘Citizens of Assam’.
Protection of human rights of every citizen of the country is the fundamental tenet of Indian Army’s operations policy and does not carry out such barbaric acts.
Indian Army is deployed in Assam to restore the internal security situation to the normalcy to enable the civil administration to function effectively.
Certain groups with maligned intentions are opposed to this process. It is a purported attempt by these miscreants to tarnish the image of the ‘Indian Army’ to deter Security Forces from carrying out effective counter terrorist operations.