Guwahati: At least 51 people have been killed while 139 injured since May last year, the Assam government informed Gauhati High Court in an affidavit.
As per the affidavit, the said number of people were killed or injured due to police action or during police custody.
"As far records, there have been 51 numbers of death and 193 numbers of injuries caused due to police action or during police custody since May 2021 till May 31 this year," IANS quoted the affidavit as saying.
The state government submitted the affidavit after a direction from the Gauhati High Court in connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on fake encounters which was put forward in front of the court for hearing on Monday.
The PIL was filed by a Delhi-based lawyer and activist, Arif Jwadder.
Reportedly, the next hearing would take place on July 29 as the Judges would study the affidavit carefully.
Advocate General Devajit Saikia appeared for the Assam government while Jwadder appeared virtually and demanded compensation for the families of the victims after verification.
The PIL which sought High Court's intervention to register FIRs on the alleged ''fake encounters'' also demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team or by a police team from another state under the supervision of the High Court.
The petitioner in the PIL also pointed out the issue of violations of the rule of law and equality.
According to reports, Jwadder had earlier registered a similar complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
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