GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has asked the Assam government to file a detailed affidavit within three weeks on the death of five people during anti-CAA protests on December 12, 2019.
Hearing a petition filed by renowned scholar Dr. Hiren Gohian and writer-social activist Paresh Malakar, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia on Friday directed that a detailed affidavit should be filed by Commissioner Secretary, Home and Political department within three weeks.
The bench also issued notices to Assam DGP, Commissioner of Police Guwahati and DC, Kmarup (Metro) district.
In their petition, Dr. Gohain and Malakar sought an independent judicial inquiry into the killing of five protesters by police during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
“In the instant case the people were peacefully protesting and most of the people were just passer-by, but over-zealous police and armed forces personnel without any warning and what appears to be in a preconceived manner, shot Sam Stafford and others in a cold-blood, thereby leading to their death. Under such circumstances this is a fit case for the interference of this Court,” they mentioned in the petition.
The petitioner informed the court that the state government had failed to fulfill its constitutional duty in the wake of the killing of five protesters, including 17-year-old Guwahati student Sam Stafford.
“The Supreme Court has already ruled that there should be a separate inquiry into each of the deaths. This is because such incidents cast doubt on the credibility of the rule of law and criminal justice system,” the petitioners pointed out.
Advocate Vikram Rajkhowai argued on behalf of the petitioner in court. The court posted the matter for further hearing on March 23.
It may be mentioned that five persons– Sam Stafford, Abdul Amin, Dipanjal Das, Ishwar Nayak and Azizur Rahman were killed in police firing during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 12, 2019.