Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said if an incident such as the horrific rape and murder of the Kolkata doctor had taken place in his state, the government would have provided “swift justice”.
“It is clear from our record of the past three years on what we do when such incidents take place in Assam. When a woman is molested or raped (in Assam), we deliver swift justice, which the opposition dislikes,” the CM said in Guwahati.
“We try to settle accounts (in such cases) immediately. In the past three years, we have taken many such prompt actions for which I keep getting attacked (by the opposition) in the assembly,” he said.
There has been an increase in police encounters in Assam ever since the BJP-led government under Sarma took charge in May 2021. At present, a PIL filed by an advocate is pending in Supreme Court seeking intervention into the alleged extra judicial killings of over 80 persons under the new BJP government.
“We don’t have any personal dislikes for the CM, but we are opposed to unconstitutional means. In India, we have an established system of delivering justice through courts. That system should be followed instead of empowering police to act against criminals on their own,” state leader of opposition and Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said.
{{/usCountry}}“We don’t have any personal dislikes for the CM, but we are opposed to unconstitutional means. In India, we have an established system of delivering justice through courts. That system should be followed instead of empowering police to act against criminals on their own,” state leader of opposition and Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said.
{{/usCountry}}In March last year, the CM had told the assembly that 66 persons were killed and 158 injured in police custody since May 2021. Of them, 35 were killed and 12 injured in gunfights with the police and 26 killed and 146 injured in police firing during that period. Another five persons were killed in accidents when they tried to escape from police custody.
“Assam Police has changed. There is no politics of appeasement. I appeal to all criminals from the floor of the House, there will be no encounters. But you must raise your hands or wave a white handkerchief if you see police. If they don’t do that and attack policemen, should I ask the cops to not do anything and get shot?” Sarma recently said in the assembly.