Guwahati: Assam has witnessed a sharp rise in cases of police atrocities. According to the statistics available with the Assam Police Accountability Commission, a total of 243 cases of police atrocities have been registered in 2021.
The statistics also indicated that in the current year 12 cases of police atrocities have been registered with the Commission till January 13.
The statistics assume significance as the Guwahati High Court recently issued a show-cause notice to the Assam government over cases of fake encounters that have taken place in the state since May 2021.
A Delhi-based advocate Arif Jwadder in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) stated that 80 incidents of fake encounters took place in Assam since May 2021 and it had resulted in 28 deaths while leaving 48 injured.
Jwadder, who hails from Assam and practices law in Delhi, had sought an order from the High Court for the registration of an FIR in the alleged fake encounter cases and an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or a police team from another state, under the supervision of the Court.
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As per the statistics, most of the cases registered against the police personnel are related to offences like custodial death, molestation by personnel of the force, illegal detention, extortion, non-registration of First Information Report etc. The Commission which was instituted in 2008 had recorded the highest cases in 2019 with 385 cases registered against personnel of the Assam police.
The sources in the Commission said that the number of cases have been reduced in the last two years probably due to the covid-19 related lockdown which was enforced in the country.
Officials further informed that although the Commission has sent repeated reminders to the government for strengthening of the Commission and improvement of the infrastructure, the government had not taken any steps so far in this regard. While the Commission operates from a rented house, it also functions with 13 temporary employees, which has affected its active functioning.
