Dear Sir, Please find attached as text the English version of a MASS communique condemning the incident of police brutality in Darrang district on July 25, 2003. In solidarity
L. Bordoloi Guwahati 26 July, 2003: All Adibasi Student Association of Assam (AASAA) called for a 12 hour Assam Bandh on 25 July, 2003. The response to the bandh was lukewarm, but in some Adibasi dominated areas, scattered incidents of disturbances took place. At Kachubil Market under Paneri PS in Darrang district, a group of protesters came to the market at around 10 :00 a.m. and asked the shop owners and small businessmen to closed the market. At this, some All Boro Students Union (ABSU) and Boro Liberation Tiger (BLT) members opposed the protestors and engaged in conflict with them. The businessmen and ABSU-BLT members beat up some AASAA activists. Local police from Paneri police station appeared in the scene and both police and ABSU-BLT members chased them away. The AASAA activists organised people from nearby Paneri Tea Estate and Bhutiyachung Tea Estate and came back to the Kachubil Market at around 2:30 p.m. The protestors (more then hundreds) armed with wooden sticks, bow and arrows, started shutting down the market and beat up some shop owners and ABSU members. In this situation, the police party started indiscriminate firing on the protestors, resulting death in spot of three tea workers , Arun Tanti (25), Babua Kheruwa (30) and Jibon Tanti (20). Three more protestors, Joseph Karla (40), Kasta Ram Kunipurti (30) and Nathanial Munda died on the way to hospital. One more protestorMangra Safar died at the Mangaldoi Civil Hospital in the evening. Some other protestors were adimitted to the hospital in serious condition and four were referred to Gauhati Medical College hospital. Reactions: Police authority claimed that the protestors opened fire on the police party and attacked them with sharp weapons. In self-defence and to control the situation they said that they had to open fire. AASAA members complained that BLT activists are responsible for the incident. According the AASAA, they first beat up the protestors and then instigated the police to open fire on the protestors. MASS condemns the incident of �police brutality�. The incident could have been prevented if police had taken necessary precautions. We believe that the incident is a result of police inactivity and partiality. MASS demands a high-level judicial inquiry into the incident and that compensation be paid to the families of the deceased and those injured by the police firing. Lachit Bordoloi MASS Central Office Guwahati. ------------------------------------------------- Sify Mail - now with Anti-virus protection powered by Trend Micro, USA. Know more at http://mail.sify.com Sify Power mail- a Premium Service from Sify Mail! know more at http://mail.sify.com _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
