High Court orders probe into death of teacher post police detention

TURA: In a major legal victory for the family of a school teacher who died a day after his release from police detention, the High Court of Meghalaya  on Wednesday ordered a judicial probe into his death.

The probe is to be conducted by the District Sessions Judge of Williamnagar and the enquiry is to be completed within three months.

Late Hillary Momin was a teacher of St. Joseph Secondary School in Chidimit Namesa under Dagal outpost in East Garo Hills. On the night of August 4^th 2018, He was picked up from the roadside by a police patrol team from Dagal outpost and arrested and kept in detention inside the station the entire night. The police alleged that he was detained for creating nuisance in his drunken stupor at a public place.

Though he was released the next morning, the teacher complained of severe pain all over his body on account of alleged assault during the night. He remained bed-ridden and died a week later.

Following his death, Hillary’s widow Lictisitha D Shira field an FIR against the police officer and his team from Dagal station for the illegal arrest, detention and assault of her husband.

While the district police and administration ordered two separate investigations and removed the Dagal police officer in charge, N Nongkhlaw, no further headway was made even though several student and social organizations had protested the alleged custodial assault causing the death of the teacher.

Apart from registering the case at Songsak police station, no further progress took place into the investigation even though the charge of custodial assault had been levelled against the officer in the FIR.

Seeking justice, the teacher’s widow moved the court seeking direction for investigation by a competent investigation agency and payment of compensation for the family of the deceased.

The high court, while accepting the Writ Petition and directing a judicial probe, has further observed that the Instant Writ Petition will be listed again for hearing after three months.