Guwahati: A Guwahati court has directed Assam Police to register a case against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for inflammatory remarks made by him against last year’s eviction drive. He had allegedly said that last year’s eviction drive in Garukhuti village of Darrang district was an “act of revenge”.
This decision of the court was taken on the basis of a petition filed by Congress Lok Sabha MP Abdul Khaleque. In his complaint, he had alleged that Sarma had stated the eviction exercise at Gorukhuti in Darang district was ‘revenge’ for the incidents of 1983 – when some youths there were killed during the Assam Agitation.
Khaleque had approached the court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate. He was alleging police inaction after the Dispur police station did not register an FIR against the Chief Minister.
Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Biswadeep Baruah in his order on Saturday directed the Dispur police station to register the complaint against Sarma, NDTV has reported, citing the copy of the order.
The court order says, “The OC (officer-in-charge) Dispur police station is directed to register a case on the allegations mentioned in the complaint and investigate the matter fairly and to submit the Final Form at the earliest.”
It further adds that the veracity of the allegations is not something that can be enquired prior to registering FIR. It said, “The police had failed in the discharge of its duty by failing to register the FIR. The veracity of the allegations is not something that can be enquired prior to the registration of the FIR. By failing to even register the FIR, it appears that the police has failed in the discharge of its duty.”
The eviction drive in Darrang district, by the Assam Government, was aimed at removing “illegal encroachers”, had turned violent leaving two people, including a 12-year-old, dead.
The Congress MP, in his complaint, accused the minister of making communal statements against a particular community while justifying the eviction drive which left over 7,000 people homeless.
Khaleque, in his complaint, stated, “The eviction drive had seen “brutal killings” as well as homes being burnt to the ground. By calling the horrendous acts (deaths of two civilians) as revenge, Sarma has not only justified the killings and arson committed there, the legality of which is sub-judice before the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court, but he has gone far ahead and communalized the whole exercise — the target of which, was the Muslim population living there.”
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