The Gauhati High Court recently dismissed a plea requesting an investigation into the tragic custodial deaths of three men from the Hmar community in Assam’s Cachar district. The three individuals—Lallungawi Hmar, Lalbeikkung Hmar, and Joshua—lost their lives under concerning circumstances after being detained on July 16, 2024. Authorities alleged that they engaged in a gunfight with the police the following day, prompting widespread outrage across Assam and neighboring Manipur.
Families of the deceased filed a petition in the High Court in August 2024, urging an independent inquiry into the deaths. They demanded that an officer from outside Assam, free from the state’s influence, should lead the investigation. The families and various Hmar community organizations raised alarms about potential misconduct, clamoring for a fair and impartial scrutiny of the incident.
On Monday, a bench consisting of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Susmita Phukan Khaund decided that the case had already been referred to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and appointed an additional superintendent of police from Hailakandi district to oversee the matter. The court expressed confidence that the investigative agency would not be biased and would handle the case with integrity. However, it left the door open for the petitioners to approach the court again if they remained dissatisfied with the outcomes of the investigation.
The judges noted that it was unclear whether any charges had been filed against the involved officials and whether the investigation was still active. They refrained from offering comments on available digital evidence, emphasizing that the inquiry was presumably ongoing. In March, the NHRC had closed the case based on a magisterial inquiry performed by an Assam Civil Service officer, which clashed with its own guidelines requiring a judicial probe into suspected custodial deaths.
An anonymous lawyer involved in the case stated that the families of the three men sought court intervention because they didn’t trust the Assam government to conduct an unbiased investigation into the alleged killings. Notably, the post-mortem reports indicated signs of torture and gunshot wounds from a close range, raising serious questions about the police’s account of events.
The lawyer critiqued the court’s display of faith in state authorities to investigate themselves, pointing out that no satisfactory action had ever been taken against the police for alleged misconduct. The government and police narratives have been inconsistent, raising further distrust among the victims’ families and community leaders.
The lawyer highlighted a significant concern with the NHRC’s closure of the case; it violated a Supreme Court directive that custodial death allegations should warrant a judicial inquiry, not merely an executive one. Along these lines, the petitioners recounted how the three men were arrested in the Ganga Nagar area and subsequently detained by at least six police officers. They alleged that the men were removed from the police station late at night and then killed by the police.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reacted quickly, stating on social media that the men were suspected militants who had been killed in a gunfight with police, following a confrontation that involved an organized raid on suspected militant hideouts in the Bhuban Hills. The police later claimed that they recovered firearms from the deceased men and reported that they were pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.
However, the Hmar Students’ Association and the Hmar Inpui, a central organization representing the Hmar community, vehemently refuted these claims. They characterized the deceased men as brave “village volunteers” who defended their community against the rising violence from Meitei militants, underscoring the complexity of the ongoing ethnic clashes in the region.
The allegations of an “encounter” have led many to question the police’s credibility, especially as inconsistencies in their accounts emerged alongside compelling video evidence. The community firmly insists that the men were wrongfully detained and executed without due process, highlighting the urgent need for justice in this matter.
As events unfold, many are keeping a close eye on how this shocking case will progress, hoping for a transparent and fair investigation that can shed light on the truth.
#GauhatiHighCourt #CustodialDeath #HmarCommunity #JusticeForHmar #AssamPolitics #HumanRights #EthnicConflict #PoliceAccountability #Assam #Manipur
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