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Army speeds up probe pace - Court martial in Ajit case from today
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060603/asp/northeast/story_6304721.asp | ||
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OUR BUREAU | ||
Guwahati/Dibrugarh, June 2: The mere hint of another Ulfa-backed campaign for "justice" in the Ajit Mahanta custody death case has forced a jittery Dispur to write to the defence establishment to expedite the probe and sent the army scurrying to announce a court martial against the guilty personnel. An army team had picked up Ajit, a daily-wage earner from Hunjan Gossaigaon under Kakopathar police station of Tinsukia district, on February 4 for allegedly having links with Ulfa militants. Loopholes in the army's version of how he died in custody and its failure to provide a shred of evidence against the victim led to an outpouring of anger that later enveloped the entire state. Maj. Gen. J. Ashoka Rao, general-officer-commanding of the Dinjan-based 2 Mountain Division, told The Telegraph that the personnel responsible for the custody death would face a court martial, beginning tomorrow. "The 2 Mountain Division has been assigned the responsibility of conducting the exercise," he said. The army officer, however, declined to divulge the names of the army personnel in the dock. A three-member court of inquiry headed by Brig. A.S. Minhas, deputy commander of the 2 Mountain Division, had completed its task in 10 days but the court martial was delayed. The Ulfa yesterday used its mouthpiece, Freedom, to urge various organisations that had spearheaded the agitation in Kakopathar to intensify it if the army failed to punish the guilty by June 10. Dispur immediately wrote to the defence authorities for a quick inquiry, hoping it would calm the pressure groups being propped up by Ulfa. A senior government official said the anti-army uprising in Kakopathar and the fallout — eight people were killed in firing by the CRPF on protesters and one of the injured died later — had embarrassed the previous government and the Congress was wary of a repeat in its second innings. He confirmed that the Tarun Gogoi government had urged the army to bring the personnel involved in the custody death to book at the earliest, but did not specify to whom the letter had been addressed. Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee had promised quick action in the wake of the agitation in Kakopathar. An army source said the services of senior civilian lawyers had been requisitioned for prosecution and defense at the court martial. He also said Ajit's wife, Kadami, and the civilian driver of the vehicle in which the victim's body had been taken to the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, would be summoned to the proceedings. Some other civilians and army officials are expected to be cross-examined, too. The army has already paid Rs 2.05 lakh in compensation to Ajit's family, built a small concrete house for the family in a nearby village and taken the responsibility of financing the education of the victim's two children. The government chipped in with ex-gratia and a job for Kadami. Dispur's apprehensions following Ulfa's appeal for a renewed agitation stems from the fact that a peace process is under way. The government official, however, said Dispur's plea to the defence authorities had nothing to do with Ulfa's statement in Freedom. |
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