After IIOJK, Chhattisgarh and Assam occupy top position for deaths in police encounters
Guwahati, July 31 (KMS): Killing of people by Indian troops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has so deeply impacted the psyche of Indian forces that Chhattisgarh and the Northeastern state of Assam occupy the second and third position in India in the deaths in police encounters.
According to Indian Home Ministry’s record, Assam recorded a total of 18 deaths during 2021-2022 even as IIOJK led the table with 45 deaths followed by Chhattisgarh with 30 deaths.
In connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Gauhati High Court by a Delhi-based lawyer and activist Arif Jwadder, the Assam government through an affidavit had earlier informed the court that 51 people died and 139 were injured in the encounters between May 2021 and June 2022 in 31 of the state’s 35 districts.
The High Court had directed the Assam government to file the updated investigation report on every police encounter case since May 2021 within six weeks. The court fixed September 29 as the next date of hearing.
Civil rights lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan and senior lawyer Indira Jaising during their separate appearance for the petitioner, argued in the High Court that the PIL raised the issue of public importance involving the rule of law in Assam.
