Seven army men, including Major General, sentenced for 1994 Assam fake encounter
Guwahati, Oct 15 (IBNS) : Seven Indian Army personnel, including a Major General, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a 24-year-old fake encounter in Assam by an Amry Court, media reports said.
The court martial related to the February 1994 Dangari encounter case in which five youths — Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran — were killed. Prabin was a local leader of the All Assam Students’ Union.
Major General AK Lal, Colonel Thomas Mathew, Colonel RS Sibiren, Captain Dilip Singh, Captain Jagdeo Singh, Naik Albindar Singh and Naik Shivendar Singh have been sentenced to life for their involvement in a fake encounter.
Following the killing of the general manager of the Assam Frontier Tea Limited by United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) gunmen, troops of the 18 Punjab Regiment based at Dhola in Tinsukia, had picked up nine youths on the night of February 17, 1994.
The soldiers killed five of the young men in a fake encounter, branding them as ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) terrorists a few days after the incident, while releasing the other four.
After receiving information about the missing men, Jagadish Bhuyan, a BJP leader and then an Asom Gana Parishad MLA, informed the Tinsukia district authorities, the chief secretary and the Governor by February 21.He then filed a case saying the troops had ignored the court order and killed the youth. “The CBI, which was directed to take up the case, listed seven officers and jawans as accused. The case went to the Supreme Court, which sought a court martial and punishment of the guilty officers,” The Hindu quoted Bhuniya as saying.
Four survivors of the encounter have sought an assurance from the government that they will not be victimised for the sentence against the Army personnel.
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