Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 22: An eye for an eye. A day after a mob set a police station in Assam’s Nagaon district on fire over an alleged custodial death case, bulldozers demolished the homes of at least three people allegedly involved in the violence.
An angry mob of about 40 people from Salonabori village had set fire to a part of the Batadrava police station in the Dhing area on Saturday afternoon following an alleged case of custodial death of a local resident. The Nagaon district administration on Saturday ordered a judicial probe into the death and the police suspended the officer in-charge of the Batadrava station.
But on Sunday morning, bulldozers reached the village, about 6 km from the station, and demolished homes of “those who were involved in setting fire to the police station,” police officers said.
A senior police officer, however, claimed that the huts were demolished as part of an anti-encroachment drive and not because of their alleged involvement in arson at the police station. But the pattern fits the BJP-ruled states where the demolition and the administration’s subsequent anti-encroachment argument has become the order of the day, particularly when Muslims constitute the violent mob.
“There were 40 people in the mob. We have identified and arrested seven… and 21 have been picked up,” Assam special DGP (law and order) G P Singh said. “We will take strong action against the police officers connected with the alleged custodial death. But such an allegation does not mean you set fire to a police station. Arson cannot be allowed,” he said. He added that video footage was being analysed to identify others involved. Following the demolition, Congress MP from Barpeta Abdul Khaleque hit out at the government. “We never support attack on police station. But buldozing houses of attackers by police is direct violation of human rights,” he tweeted.
According to the police, Sofikul Islam, a fish trader from Salonabori village, was on Friday night brought to the police station on the basis of a complaint that he was “drunk.”
The events that led to his death the next morning are contested. While the police claimed that he died after his wife picked him and took him to the hospital, his family alleged that she found him dead at the hospital.
According to the police statement from the office of the director general of police Assam, Islam was released and handed over to his wife on Saturday morning. “His wife even gave him some water/food. Later he complained of sickness and he was taken to two hospitals, one after another. Unfortunately he was declared dead,” it said.
On the other hand, family members of Islam claimed that the police at the Batadrava station demanded Rs 10,000 and a duck as a bribe for his release. Islam’s wife visited the police station with a duck on Saturday morning. “When she returned with the money later, she learnt that her husband had been taken to Nagaon Civil Hospital. After reaching there, she found him dead,” her relatives said.
A few hours later, at about 3.30 pm in the afternoon, a mob gheraoed the police station and set a part of it ablaze. Videos of the incident, circulating on social media, show a woman sprinkling liquid on a scooter in the station and setting it on fire.
While Assam Police has suspended the officer in charge of Batadrava station, the force added that they would be “even tougher” against elements involved in the arson. “While we will not let go any police personnel found guilty, we will act even tougher against elements who think that they can escape the Indian justice system, by burning down police stations. We will simply not allow this. Let this be the first and last warning to all antisocial/criminal elements,” the statement said.
Last month, BJP-controlled civic bodies razed homes of people allegedly involved in communal violence in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. Homes were also demolished in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone over allegations of rioting. Critics said these demolitions targeted one community. Authorities have denied the charge and stressed that they were routine drives against encroachment.
The Assam special DGP said, “A demolition drive has taken place. There was an allegation that some of those who attacked the police station yesterday had encroached land. Even if they had documents, they were forged. So today, a few huts were demolished.”
The state police chief Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, however, believed that the attack on the police station was a planned one. “The attack on the police station was not an “action-reaction incident” but was carried out by criminals to destroy case records,” the state police chief said. In a social media post, Mahanta said Islam was brought to the police station after police received a complaint of public drinking.
“He was in fact lying on a public road before he was brought in. He was booked after medical check-up. The next day he was released and handed over to his wife. His wife even gave him some water/food. Later he complained of sickness and he was taken to two hospitals, one after another. Unfortunately he was declared dead,” Mahanta wrote.
He stressed that the Assam police takes this death “very seriously” and has suspended the officer in charge of the police station. “If there is any foul play at our end, we mean to find that and punish the guilty according to law. No two ways about it,” he said.
The state police chief then went on to talk about the attack on the police station. “Some local bad elements took law onto their own hands and burnt down the thana. These bad elements came in all forms women, men, young and old. But the preparedness with which they came, the ferocious & organised attack they staged on police force has made us think deeper,” he said.
“We don’t think these are grieving relatives of the dead, but as we have identified, they were bad characters and their relatives with criminal records- RECORDS that were there within the thana. Proof, incrementing evidences- all burnt down,” the police chief wrote, adding, “So don’t think this is a simple action-reaction incident. There much more to it.”
He then assured the people of the state that while no police personnel found guilty will be spared, the force will crack down on elements “who think that they can escape Indian justice system by burning down Police Stations”.
District police chief Leena Doley said, “We have video footage and media persons have also helped us. We are identifying the people involved in the attack on the police station and will take action. We are also investigating if there was any custodial torture (to Islam),” he said.
The State Cabinet minister Pijush Hazarika said, “If there was a custodial death, we will investigate and take action but we will not tolerate a mob burning down a police station. We will take extreme action,” he said.
