Major General and six other army personnel have been convicted by the Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) of the Indian Army in a 24-year-old fake encounter case. The Army has sentenced a Major General, two Colonels and four other soldiers to life imprisonment.
In February 1994, five student activists All Assam Students’ Union were killed by the army in a fake encounter after nine youths were picked up by the Army from different areas of Tinsukia district on February 18, 1994, following the killing of a top tea garden executive.
According to the reports, five of them Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran were taken near the Dangari river and were gunned down in a fake encounter. The remaining four were later released.
The then AASU vice-president and now a BJP leader in the state Jagadish Bhuyan fought for justice in Gauhati High Court that first led to a CBI probe ordered by the court. On February 22, 1994, Bhuyan had filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the Gauhati High Court, seeking information about the fate of the young men. The high court asked the Indian Army to produce the nine AASU (All Assam Students Union) leaders at the nearest police station. However, the Army brought the bodies of the five activists.
The court-martial process began on July 16 this year and concluded on July 27. Expressing his happiness on the judgment, Jagadish Bhuyan said, “I strongly believe in our judicial system, democracy and discipline and neutrality of the Indian Army.”