Guwahati: Opposition MLAs on Monday rocked Assam Assembly over the murder of 16-year-old Priya Basumatary by militants of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit faction) in remote Dwimuguri forest village in Chirang district of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) areas.
The Opposition MLAs lambasted the government for its failure to protect the lives of common people in the state despite the sustained ‘counter-insurgency operations’ and stated that murder of the Class X students by the insurgents in broad daylight in front of the villagers
would remain an indelible black spot on the state.
The Opposition MLAs were on their feet demanding a discussion on the issue followed by a statement in the House by the chief minister and home minister Tarun Gogoi. But the treasury Bench did not relent and insisted that first a statement would be made in the House over the incident which was vehemently opposed by the Opposition MLAs cutting across the party lines.
The Opposition’s attack was led by Mrs Promila Rani Brahma, an MLA of Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) who stated that the government was yet to provide adequate security to the family of slain Priya Basumatary. She alleged that her(Priya’s) injured parents were not being properly looked after by the government and they were made to wait in government civil hospital in Kokrajhar for receiving medical treatment.
She demanded to know whether the security forces were using her as an informer and if so, why the forces failed to provide security to her. She criticized the government for failing miserably in providing security to the people living in Bodoland areas against the marauding NDFB-S insurgents. The Opposition MLAs flayed government for taking no action against concerned local police officials who had failed to retrieve the body of the girl for two days after her killing and allowed to body lie unattended on a paddy field.
Congress’ rebel MLA Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma demanded the dismissal of the officer in charge of the local police station for failing to recover the girl’s body for two days.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi later told the media outside the House that Priya Basumatary was not being used as an informer by security forces and she was an innocent girl. He said the police and security were instructed to nab her killers.
A case No. 60/2014 U/S 120 (B) /147/148/149/448/302/325 IPC R/W 27Arms Act and 15/16 UA (P) has been registered in Runikhata police station in this connection.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilamani Sen Deka said “The Assam-Nagaland border issue is sub-judice and a case is pending at the Supreme Court. The state government has said to give a CBI enquiry into the incidents following the violence. So it is not proper to have a discussion on this.”
AGP’s Choudhury reacted to this by saying that when the Chief Minister himself was ready to have a discussion, why was it not being allowed? Then Deka said: “You (opposition) are not serious. Had you been serious with the topic, you would have brought it through a device so that we can have a discussion on it.”
The Speaker also supported Nilamani Deka and asked the Opposition to bring the issue through a device for discussion on Tuesday and the Chief Minister’s statement should allowed to be read in the House on Monday.
However, the unrelenting Opposition did not pay heed to this and the Assam House was adjourned for the day. (with inputs from PTI)
