Bulletproof Jacket: No Action Yet On Report!

GUWAHATI: The report of the inquiry commission into the incident of militants’ bullets piercing the bulletproof jacket of police personnel leading to his death was submitted to Dispur some six months back. However, the people of the State are in dark as to what action has been taken in that connection, and against whom.

In an encounter with the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), Bordumsa police station officer in-charge Bhaskar Kalita died along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Tinsukia district last year. The officer in-charge died as the bullet fired by the ULFA pierced the bulletproof jacket he was wearing and penetrated his body. The incident did rock Dispur, prompting the State Home Department to institute an inquiry commission by the Additional Chief Secretary, Home. The inquiry commission submitted its report to Dispur some six months back. The commission found in its course of investigation that – as usual the efficacy of bulletproof jackets has to be tested after regular intervals of time, but in that lot of bulletproof jackets that rule was not followed.

The people of the State are in dark as to what action has been taken after receiving the inquiry report, and who has/have been held responsible for the lapses.

Circles concerned question the necessity of such inquiries squeezing the State exchequer if the government does not take action after receiving such reports. Such reports do have a lot of recommendations so as not to repeat similar lapses/faults in future.

Ordering inquiries for one or the other reasons was the signature of the former Congress government at Dispur that, as often as not, left the inquiry reports to gather dust. When inquiry reports and recommendations are not given due importance by the government, the general people assume that such inquiries are nothing but eyewash. Is the present dispensation at Dispur treading the path of its predecessor?

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