Gauhati High Court on Cachar encounter: Keep bodies till July 26

Staff reporter

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has directed the district administration and police in Cachar district to keep the bodies of three youths, who were killed in an alleged encounter on July 17, in a morgue till the next hearing on Friday.

The HC ordered that the three bodies be allowed by the officials concerned to be kept in the morgue of Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) till the next hearing on Friday (July 26). The families of the three youths told the court that the police had asked them to take away the bodies by Wednesday.

The bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Soumitra Saikia issued the order after family members of the victims filed a writ petition in the HC alleging that it was a case of "extra judicial execution" by the police. The three families lodged an FIR in Lakhipur police station in Cachar district on July 19, seeking an investigation into the incident of July 17 that led to the deaths of the youths belonging to the Hmar community.

The petitioners told the HC that the three were arrested on suspicion of being militants at around 4.30 pm on July 16 from Ganganagar Part-VI area under Lakhipur police station in Cachar district by six police personnel. However, they were taken out of the Kachudharam police station in the wee hours of July 17 and were allegedly killed in an extrajudicial execution. Two of the deceased youths hailed from Cachar district and one from Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district in conflict-hit Manipur.

The petitioners also sought the HC's directive for a post-mortem of the bodies to be conducted by doctors from outside Assam.

According to the police, hours after their detention, the youths were taken to the Bhuban Hills area along the Assam-Mizoram border for a search operation. A number of other militants, who were hiding in the hills, opened fire at the police team, prompting the team to retaliate. The three sustained bullet injuries in the crossfire and were killed on the spot, the police stated.

The HC bench instructed the government counsel to "obtain report from the police in the matter and shall produce the same before the Court in a sealed cover for the perusal of the Court. It is also provided that till the orders are passed on the next date, the District and Police Administration of Cachar District shall allow to keep the dead bodies in the Morgue of SMCH, Silchar."

Also Read: Families of Three Hmar Youths Killed in Cachar Crossfire File FIR, Allege False Encounter by Police (sentinelassam.com)

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