New Delhi: “There is no doubt that the policeman shot to kill Ali," asserts Hussain Ali Madani. He is the person who last Friday captured on video an Assam police officer shooting a protestor in Khutamarai, Goalpara district.
The video of the shooting, in which a police officer can be seen firing three bullets at 22-year-old protestor — Yakub Ali — one of which killed him instantly, has since gone viral. The policeman has been suspended.
Ali was part of a protest against the state’s alleged discrimination against Muslims, who are considered illegal Bangladeshi immigrants by some.
In a conversation with News18, Madani — who describes himself as a political activist and someone who “records what he sees" — talked about the events that led up to the moment when Ali was shot through the chest by the police officer.
“There was no permission for blocking the roads, which is eventually what the protestors did. As they approached the Narayana Setu (a bridge over Brahmputra) the protestors, led by a lawyer named Nazrul Islam, were soon asked for a written permission of the protest by the police," said Madani.
There were around 400 protestors out there shouting ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, said Madani.
“A few minutes into their protest they were approached by a group of personnel from Assam police and Central Reserved Police Force. A senior police officer shoved a few protestors aside and asked them for a written permission. He also tore up the protest banner," Madani added.
When the protestors failed to furnish the requisite permit, the senior police officer hit Islam with a lathi.
“Immediately after that, jawans started beating up other protestors, who began running for cover. The lathicharge enraged the protestors and they started pelting stones at police. Then, just like that, a policeman emerged from the group and aimed his weapon at a protestor. He fired twice and missed both times. Third time found his target — 22-year-old Ali," Madani said.
Policemen rushed and dragged Ali’s body in a van. Videos shot by Madani on violence have gone viral on social media since last Friday.
“If the personnel had a problem with the protest, then the district administration should have come to the spot. There was absolutely no reason for the cops to shoot dead a protestor," asserted Madani.
Police Shooting Not Rare
Soon after the violence, Goalpara superintendent of police Amitabh Sinha confirmed the news of killing. “The police had dispersed the crowd by cane-charge. However, the agitators regrouped and began pelting stones at the vehicles passing by the national highway, which led police firing. It led to the killing of the youth."
Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay told News18 that a magisterial probe has been initiated. “A magistrate level probe is on and an FIR has also been registered in the case and a factual report is expected soon," he said. Sources in Assam police say they are going to check the veracity of the video and send it for forensic analysis.
Unlike big cities, police shooting at protest march isn’t uncommon in Assam. Last year, during the protest against shifting of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) from Raha to Guwahati one person was shot dead in police firing. Experts often blame this on the Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (AFSPA) and the history of militancy in the state.
First United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and then militant groups demanding a separate state for Bodo had kept Assam on the brink. Considering the tense situation, a police that is conditioned to handle conflict situations appears inept to handle peace time protests.
The D Word
D Voter is a dirty word in Assam. ‘Doubtful’ voters are those who have voted in India but their Indian citizenship is in question.
This is also a loosely used slang against all those who moved from the neighbouring districts of Bangladesh to Assam. This even if the movement happened before the Independence. Those who are suspected to be Bangladeshi are often sent notice to prove citizenship in the Foreign Tribunal. Over 52,000 people have been declared foreigners by the Tribunal.
There are at present around 100 foreigners’ tribunal set up as per a directive by the Supreme Court. They are reviewing the list of ‘D voters’. Many such voters have been lodged in detention centres across the state.
The mammoth exercise of updating the 1951 National Register of Citizens is on. The list is likely to come by December 2017. All the residents of Assam have been asked to submit their proof of origin. While thousands of documents were found to be fake, there is still sometime before the final list of all Assamese people is out.
The move stems from a clause of the Assam Accord that was signed between All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiotabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad with the state and central government in 1985.
But a young human rights advocate Aman Wadud says many of those who have been declared foreigners have been termed so because they couldn’t afford sound legal advice. “Look at Moinal Mollah, a Bengali Muslim from Barpetta. He was held an illegal migrant even as his biological parents were held Indian," adds Wadud.
Moinal spent years in detention camp before Aman’s NGO intervened and took the matter to Supreme Court. He is now a bonafide Indian citizen but this happened only because his matter was raised in the apex court. Not everyone is as lucky. And this is the kind of witch-hunt that the congregation was protesting against in Nagaon.
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