Another display of Indian-jurisprudence!
Nothing ever happens.
At 12:16 AM -0800 11/16/07, umesh sharma wrote:
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/16/stories/2007111654701400.htm
Mahanta at the helm of secret killings in Assam:
Saikia Commission Sushanta Talukdar
Guwahati: The Justice K.N. Saikia Commission has
indicted the former Chief Minister Prafulla
Kumar Mahanta, the then police hierarchy and the
Home Ministry for the extra-constitutional
killings which occurred in Assam during
1998-2001. There is enough evidence to show
that the then Home Minister was at the helm of
these extra-constitutional killings, the
one-man Commission said. Mr. Mahanta, who was
heading the Asom Gana Parishad-led government,
was also Home Minister during this period.
The report of the Commission, constituted by the
State government to probe the secret killings
of family members of leaders and cadres of the
United Liberation Front of Asom, was tabled in
the Assembly by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on
Thursday.
About the motive behind the secret killings,
the Commission said it was perpetuation of the
AGP rule by villainy, treachery and monstrous
cruelty and dangerous propensity.
Remote orchestration
The common characteristics of the cases and
evidence prove beyond reasonable doubt, remote
orchestration of killing from the Home Ministry,
through police-SULFA [surrendered ULFA] nexus
using some SULFAs as the striking arms or
executioners. The authority may be held liable
and be dealt with according to law.
The Commission recommended to the government to
try to first keep in abeyance, and then
gradually dismantle the Unified Command
structure of the Army, the Assam police and the
Central paramilitary forces as an immediate
measure to prevent recurrence of such killings.
The Commission observed some common
characteristics each killing involved an ULFA
family or an ULFA related family, the
investigations mostly fizzling out or ending in
Final Reports or investigations pending, but no
clue. No charge sheet was submitted in any case.
Most of the killings occurred at dead of night,
and the assailants invariably spoke in Assamese
to wake up the victims.
The assailants were invariably armed with
sophisticated firearms of prohibited bores, and
masked with black wrappers or caps to avoid
being identified, the report said. The weapons
used in the killings were invariably firearms of
different sizes, bores and calibres, mostly of
prohibited bores normally found in
police-military situations. As firearms with
prohibited bores were used, forensic/ballistic
examinations of exhibits were mostly avoided or
unduly delayed, and the investigation ultimately
fizzled out. The vehicles used were mostly
Maruti Gypsies and vans and always without
registration numbers. There was police
patrolling in the crime areas prior to and
after, but not during the killings.
Army ubiquitous
The Army was ubiquitous. By Army, we mean the
armed forces of the Union deployed in Assam in
aid of civil power. There was lurking evidence
of police-SULFA nexus in the killings, some of
the latter being constituted as an
extra-constitutional authority and used as
executioners. The modus operandi being to visit
the family, ask members to persuade its ULFA
members to surrender, failing which, to send an
advance team to survey the location and
structure of the house, then to send armed and
masked men at dead of night, knock at the door
to wake up the inmates and then drag him/them
out and shoot him/them dead, or take him/them
away and secretly kill and throw the bodies
somewhere.
The report said there was general resentment
against the Unified Command Structure/Chief
Minister.
In its action taken report, the government said
it accepted the Commissions recommendation to
revive 20 cases for re-investigation. As for
keeping in abeyance and gradually dismantling
the Unified Command structure, it said the
recommendation would be considered in
conjunction with the prevailing situation at the
time of the tri-monthly review of the structure.
Another report tabled
The government also tabled the preliminary
report of the Justice J.N. Sharma Commission,
constituted prior to the setting up of the
Saikia Commission.
Justice Sharma said he was not able to identify
the killers and accomplices, and pinpoint
responsibility.
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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