In the wake of an unfortunate incident that took place on February 8 last at Lal Pathar coal mining area under your administrative jurisdiction, the Naginimora police, on February 9, took my brother, Awe, the employer of the victim (Kavito) of the incident, under lock-up on the condition that though he was innocent prima facie till the accused Ahan (‘Mahuri’ employed him) was arrested, he would be under lock-up. While under lock-up, he was interrogated in which he stated his innocence at the time of the incident and all that happened later after he came to know about the incident. Later that night, with the successful arrest of the accused Ahan by the police, he was released from the lock- up. However, since he happens to have been the employer of both the accused and the victim, it was understandable that as and when the police require his cooperation in investigating the case, he would cooperate with them.
Three days passed by after the arrest of the accused, on the morning of February 13, you, through one Sub-Inspector of Police, called my brother, Awe, at the Naginimora police sub-station. When he reported there, you arrested him by asking him to go inside the police vehicle. You did not give any reason for his arrest (failing Article 22(1) of the Constitution). On the way, from Naginimora to Mon, when my brother insisted the police for the reason of his arrest, the police told him that he was not arrested but taken into custody for taking statements only. Mid-way their journey to Mon I met them at Wakching and asked for the reason why he should be arrested, to which the police replied that it was not an arrest but taken into custody only for statements. On reaching the district police station at Mon, he was put in the lock- up the whole night, and the next day he was transferred from the lock-up to the jail without even producing him before the Judicial Magistrate of the district as per the law.
There in the jail, he was hair-cut and punished. Later that evening, because of the pressing complaints and demands from the family, relatives, well wishers and responsible public leaders of the district, he was brought back to the lock-up to be confined another one more complete night. Thus, by keeping two complete nights in the lock-up and a day in the jail without producing my arrested brother before the Judicial Magistrate, even the district police had failed to abide by Article 22(2) of the Constitution. On the third day of his arrest, the police interrogated him in which no different question but those same old questions which he had answered in his first arrest under lock-up at Naginimora were asked. Only in the evening hours of the third day of his arrest, he was discharged by the police, that too without even producing him before the Judicial Magistrate. That day, you had come from Naginimora to Mon but you did not even see my brother whom you had irresponsibly humiliated in the name of administering law. In spite of you having had a clear information from the statements my brother gave at the Naginimora police sub-station in his first arrest, you ordered his humiliating second arrest, thereby allowing the police to punish him by keeping him two complete nights in the lock-up and a day in the jail. This careless and boastful action of yours and misconduct on the part of the police have jointly caused a deep damage on the reputation and human dignity of my innocent brother. It has defamed his image as a good citizen. In this connection, some questionable conduct of yours on which I seek your honest clarifications are:
(1) While, my innocent brother was already in the lock-up for the second time, you replied to my query on phone that the arrest was made as per the order from the DC, Mon. You said the same thing when women representatives of KNSK Naginimora Unit made the same query when they met you on the issue. Here, according to you, it was not you but the DC, Mon, who ordered the second arrest of my innocent brother. Are you really blaming the DC, Mon, for the second arrest order? Here, have you not misconducted yourself as a civil servant/ administrator by attempting to transfer the blame for your action on the DC, Mon, thereby attempting to make her as the scapegoat?
(2) Again, to the same query made on phone by respected Khoiwang, Konyak Union President, you replied that it was not an arrest but taken into police custody for statements only. My question to you, Madam, is that when my brother had already been confined another night in the lock-up for the second time, how could you say that it was not an arrest? What is your definition of ‘Arrest’ then? Under your order, in all my innocent brother was confined two complete nights in the lock-up and a day in the jail, causing him a deep mental trauma and agony, halting his normal day to day life and business activities, defaming him as a good citizen. It has also hurt his reputation, besides causing him, family, relatives and all those right thinking public leaders, losses of precious resources such as, time, energy and money, for days together. Have you not abused your administrative power here by carelessly giving such an irregular arrest order against my innocent brother?
(3) Later, much after his arrest and even after he was already confined in the lock-up, you said that the reason for his second arrest was because the cause of the incident was the issue of labor payments and my brother being the employer. I ask you, if the reason be so, then why didn’t the police ask my brother even a single question relating to labor payments during the interrogation/investigation conducted on him on the third day of his second arrest? Instead, he was asked only the same old questions that he had clearly answered to the police in his first arrest at Naginimora on February 9.
(4) Now, if my brother is related to the case only as the employer of the accused and the victim and that anything that happened during the incident was without his knowledge, were you politically motivated to initiate his second arrest order on the pretext of taking statements? Remember, my brother had stated all his innocence in the case when he was interrogated in his first arrest on the night of February 9, and even you had learned all this.
(5) Yes, the accused Ahan came to the house of my brother that night after the incident but he concealed the truth from my brother and only casually told him that he argued with the cook. He said that he had come there as there was a need to arrange daily rations for the laborers. Now, was it the false of my brother or the accused Ahan if the latter had concealed the truth? Because of the accused concealing the truth, my brother did not know anything that must have happened to his laborers until the next day (February 9).
(6) On the next day (February 9) my brother learned through third person sources about the truth of his laborers fights-and-disperse incident. He was informed that his workers had all left the work place after fights amongst themselves. So he tried phone calls to each and every of his laborers but all were switched off. He rushed to the spot where the fight reportedly took place and with the help of some laborers employed in the same area by other employers, he found one of his laborers Kavito unconsciously injured at some distance away from the exact spot. So, they carried him out to the roadside where a vehicle was kept waiting. From there, the injured was taken to East Point Hospital at Siv Sagar district of Assam. But unfortunately, Kavito succumbed to his injuries in front of the doctor. Having met this tragedy, my brother returned to Naginimora with the dead body of his laborer Kavito and reported to the police. Being innocent, my brother did not hide from the law and was ready to cooperate with the police. Accordingly the police took his statements in which he clearly stated his innocence. Yet he was detained in the lock-up until the accused Ahan was arrested.
(7) When the family of the deceased came to take away the dead body, my brother detailed them all that he knew on the unfortunate incident and they understood him and his innocence in the incident. My brother also humbly handed over them a small cash amount of Rs. 30,000/- only (Rupees Thirty Thousand only) as a sign of respect and condolence to the family of the deceased. All this and associated details relating to the incident as known to my brother as employer of the victim were stated by my brother to the Naginimora police in his first arrest on February 9. Therefore, the police should be having the record of these statements intact and without distortion of any truth. You too had learned all this details. Will you say now that you did not know these details?
(8) I am sure you will say that you and the police only tried your level best to solve the case in a most sensible manner so as to avoid communal tension and conflicts. That whatever you said and did was as per the laws. That you may also try to explain yourself in the best possible image as an effective administrator. However, the truth is that other senior administrators and the public of this society know better the true image and quality of every administrator.
Therefore, kindly clarify to my aggrieved brother, our family, well wishers, and right thinking public leaders and citizens of this society, on your questionable administrative conduct that has casted a humiliating image on my innocent brother, defaming him as a good citizen, damaging his reputation, causing him to suffer loss of dignity, time, energy and money for no false of his in the case.
Tangpa Konyak
General Secretary,
Konyak Union, Wakching Unit
