Dimapur, August 24 (MExN): A Naga youth who was arrested by the Assam Police on August 16 has reportedly died under police custody on August 21.
According to the Anaki Citizen Forum Dimapur, the deceased, identified as Henveih Phom, 35, from Anaki-C village under Mokokchung district, was reportedly arrested by the Assam Police at “Anaki jurisdiction (Nagaland) on his way to Gelekey, Assam.”
“He was physically tortured and brutally beaten. He was physically fit and sound at the time of his arrest. It is learnt that within five (5) days of his arrest, he died on August 21, 2022 at the custody of Assam Police in a very suspicious manner (Sic),” stated a press release from the Forum on Wednesday.
On being informed by the police, the family members of the deceased reached Joysagar Civil Hospital, Sivasagar and found his body kept in an inhumane manner at the corridor of the said hospital, it added.
Stating that the act has violated Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 3 & 5, the Anaki Citizen Forum Dimapur condemned the alleged custodial death. “The inhuman and irresponsible act by law abiding forces (Assam Police) may trigger tension and disharmony between Nagaland and Assam,” it asserted, while requesting the Governments of Assam and Nagaland to give justice to the deceased’s family.
NLSF: The Nagaland Law Students' Federation (NLSF) also issued a statement expressing shock and terming the Assam Police’s action as a “barbaric and heinous crime” and a violation of Fundamental Rights provided in the Indian Constitution and a gross violation of human rights.
“The Police personnel involved in the custodial death must be booked and proper judicial enquiry must follow as no one is above the law. Murder within or outside the Police Station is a crime,” it asserted.
Citing sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) 1973 as well as Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the NLSF contended that the aforesaid article and sections, along with the circumstantial evidence would prove ‘crystal clear’ that Phom’s demise was under custodial death and as such, the Police personnel involved in the brutal killing should not be allowed to go unpunished.
The NLSF further appealed to the state government to take the matter in utmost seriousness for judicial proceedings, stating that the crime is an absolute violation of fundamental rights and human rights, and justice should be given to the bereaved family.
NPCC: Similarly, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee condemned the alleged custodial death in a press note on Wednesday.
“As the victim died while in the custody of government agencies, I demand for a judicial probe to be conducted in the case and deliver justice to the victim’s family,” NPCC President K Therie stated in the press note.
KSM: In another release, the Kangtsung Senso Mongdang (Kangtsung Citizen’s Forum) pointed out the deceased, along with another person, arrested by the Assam Police in Anaki village jurisdiction “which is very much under Tuli Sub Division, Mokokchung, Nagaland.”
The other individual, a woman, was arrested in the absence of any women police personnel “which is unwarranted, gross violation of rights of a woman and devoid of any legality,” it said. The woman was subsequently release “on payment of Rs 50,000 as purportedly demanded by the Officer In-charge of the Gelekey Police Station,” the KSM stated in the release.
The KSM, citing a report from a “reputed doctor of Gelekey PHC,” claimed that the physical health condition of the deceased was ‘fit and robust,’ on the day of arrest. “However, thereafter, it is apparent from the face of the factual circumstances that the accused victim was brutally beaten, manhandled and tortured by the Assam Police and subsequently lodged at Sivasagar District Jail, Assam,” it alleged.
According to the KSM, the father of the deceased received a phone call from the Officer In-charge on August 21 morning, informing that his son was not feeling well. When the family reached Sivasagar, he was “already dead under mysterious circumstances and the dead body was kept outside the verandah at Joysagar Civil Hospital, Sivasagar, Assam, which clearly transpired that the accused dies in Sivasagar District Jail due to inhuman torture by the Police,” it claimed.
Under these circumstances, the KSM demanded a judicial probe into the alleged custodial death and said that befitting punishment should be giving to the erring officials and personnel of the concerned police station as well as other related agencies, for omission and negligence on their part, causing death of an accused under their custody.
PSC: Meanwhile, the Phom Students’ Conference (PSC) asserted that the “Assam Police (District jail, Sivasagar) must surrender and admit their total failure of responsibility and duty before it triggers disharmony between the two states of Nagaland and Assam.”
The accused persons(s) should be dealt with an iron hand and befitting punishment be given to restore immediate justice, it stated in a press release on Wednesday.
The PSC appealed to the State Government and State Human Rights Commission to take up necessary steps to prosecute the accused person in accordance with the law of the land. It also said that the law enforcing agency should understand the gravity of the incident and weigh all the pros and cons in a fair and unbiased manner and ensure that the perpetrators of such a crime are brought to justice without any delay.
The PSC further extended solidarity to the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace.
