The opposition Congress on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam of running a 'police raj' after official data tabled in the assembly revealed that 72 accused persons were gunned down and 220 injured in police actions since Himanta Biswa Sarma became the chief minister in May 2021.
The Congress also stated that the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of the data while issuing a verdict in an ongoing case on alleged fake encounters in the state.
Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, tabled a set of official papers in the assembly on Monday, revealing that 256 police actions have been taken between May 10, 2021 and February 23 this year.
Magisterial inquiries were conducted in 175 cases but not in 81 others.
The government, however, registered police cases in each incident under relevant laws and as per guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Reacting to the data, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress said that the apex court, which is already hearing a case on 171 alleged fake encounters in Assam, should take cognisance of the latest data and go for further suo motu hearing before pronouncing the verdict.
"The SC should take cognisance of these latest facts and open the case instead of reserving the verdict. This news should be taken into consideration suo motu," Saikia told PTI.
He alleged that the figures show that there is a 'total police raj' in the state without any regard for the rule of law.
"We strongly condemn such a situation. We have been trying to raise the matter in the assembly so many times, but answers had always been evasive. Such killings of accused persons are happening because the ruling party is using the police for political gains," Saikia said.
The documents tabled in the House showed that 38 people were killed while they were in police remand. Additionally, 34 more lost their lives in police action while they were in custody but before being sent to police remand.
Similarly, 181 people received bullet injuries in these incidents while they were in police remand and 40 more were injured before being sent to police remand.
It was not known exactly how many of these incidents were unilateral action by the police and how many were encounters, when both sides were engaged in gunfights.
A year-wise breakup shows that the highest number of people were killed in 2021, the year when Sarma became the CM of Assam. That year, a total of 31 people lost their lives in 83 cases of police action, both in remand and before remand.
Also, 67 people were injured, including 54 in police remand and 13 before remand.
In 2021, magisterial inquiry was conducted in 52 cases, while no such probe was ordered in 31 incidents.
The next year, 18 accused were gunned down, including three before their police remand. A total of 79 others were injured in 95 incidents, out of which magisterial probes were conducted in 66.
In 2023, the documents showed that 13 accused were gunned down, including nine before remand. Additionally, 35 people were injured in 44 incidents, out of which magisterial probes were ordered in 35 cases.
In 2024, 10 people lost their lives, including three before police remand. A total of 35 people were injured in 28 cases, out of which magisterial probes were ordered in 21 incidents.
In the current year till February 23, no death has been reported but five people have been injured during police remand in six different instances. Out of these, magisterial probes have been ordered in only one case.
Another set of documents showed that a total of 136 people were killed across Assam in police action since 2016, when the BJP came to power for the first time in the state.
Earlier, the high number of shoot-outs whipped up a political furore with the opposition alleging that the Assam Police have turned "trigger happy" and were indulging in "open killings" under the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led regime.
The Supreme Court was on February 25 informed by the Assam government that the 2014 guidelines for investigating police encounters were duly followed in the state and unnecessary targeting of security forces was demoralising.
Following the submission, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh reserved the verdict on a plea seeking an independent investigation over 171 alleged fake police encounters in Assam between May, 2021 and August, 2022, in which 56 people died, including four in custody, and 145 were injured.
The petitioner, Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, had challenged a January 2023 order of the Gauhati High Court, which dismissed his PIL over the encounters by Assam Police.
In October last year, the SC had termed the situation "very serious" and sought details, including on the probe conducted in these matters.
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