GUWAHATI: A local court in Assam on Thursday sent the officer-in-charge of Dhula police station in Darrang district, Ranjit Hazarika, to judicial custody.
He was arrested by the police on Wednesday night in connection with the alleged custodial death of a labourer, Hasen Ali. The police on Tuesday evening raided Ali’s house suspecting that he was in possession of an illegal weapon but did not get any. Later, they picked him up and drove towards the police station. However, as he fell sick later, he was taken to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital but he died soon after.
Darrang deputy commissioner (district magistrate), Ashok Kumar Barman, told The New Indian Express that prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC had remained in force in areas falling under Dhula police station.
“He (Hazarika) was arrested in connection with the alleged custodial death of Hasen Ali. As of now, we don’t know the cause of the death. We are awaiting the report of post-mortem,” Barman said.
Two inquires, one by an additional chief secretary and another by an additional deputy commissioner, were being conducted but opposition Congress is not amused. A delegation of the party, which met the DM of Darrang on Thursday, demanded a judicial probe into the incident and compensation for the injured.
One person was killed in police firing while about a dozen others, including policemen, were injured when a mob, numbering some thousands, clashed with the police protesting Ali’s death. The mob had attacked the Dhula police station with stones forcing the police to first use batons and tear gas and then open fire. The mob, as well as Ali’s wife, alleged that he died due to police atrocities.
The state government has announced ex-gratia payments of Rs.5 lakh each to the next of kin of the two persons killed.