Assam Police Indulging In Unprecedented Corruption During BJP Govt’s Rule: State TMC Chief

Assam TMC President Ripun Bora alleged that the state police have indulged in “corruption” during the BJP government's rule in a manner that is “unprecedented in the annals of the state’s history.”

Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s Assam unit chief Ripun Bora addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Monday.

Source : Pallav Bora

Guwahati: Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s Assam unit chief Ripun Bora on Monday took a dig at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, alleging that the latter is fully responsible for the erosion of values in the state police department. The former Rajya Sabha member and TMC national spokesperson said that Chief Minister Sarma has failed to provide leadership to the state’s home department while the police have indulged in “corruption” during the BJP government's rule in a manner that is “unprecedented in the annals of the state’s history.”

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Bora questioned why is the Chief Minister spending crores of money on holding Superintendent of Polices’ conferences in different places "if the skills of the police force are not improving".

“Why Sarma’s frequent harping on “zero tolerance” to corruption is not being heeded by a section of police. Why will the police not heed his orders to shoot below the knees as they are dividing the spoils from syndicates,” Bora asked.

Bora further said that the motto of the Assam Police, as contained in its logo, is a great one — always in the service of the people. However, the objective and ideals of the Assam Police have been besmirched by a section of police officials, as evident from their recent activities and behavior, the Assam TMC chief alleged.

“The Assam police are known as peacekeepers in rural areas but instead of service to the people, a section of the police officials are now only interested in self-service,” Bora added.

Bora cited a few examples including the leakage of the Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment examination question paper in 2020, which took place during the BJP’s rule in Assam. He alleged that in the end, it was evident that the persons involved in the scam were from the police force itself.

“Two senior Assam police officials, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Pradip Kumar Dutta and the then Superintendent of Police (SP) of Karimganj district Kumar Sanjit Krishna were found to be involved in the scam. Both were arrested and jailed. After spending a considerable time in jail, both were out on bail. A probe into the matter also revealed the involvement of other police officials. This incident led to the loss of credibility of the state police force in the eyes of the people,” Bora said.

“A few months ago, the shocking incident of a minor domestic help being raped and murdered in an area under the jurisdiction of Dhula police station in Darrang district came to the fore. The then Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dhula police station, in lieu of a hefty sum of money, tried to shield the guilty and mislead the probe into the incident by labeling it as suicide. However, the truth finally emerged and the then Darrang SP Rajmohan Rai, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rupam Phukan and the OC had to be arrested after their involvement became apparent,” Bora added.

Bora further said, “Recently, the mysterious death of Nagaon police SI Junmoni Rabha shook the entire state and later it emerged that several police officials were suspected of being involved in her death. Although the case is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the people are still convinced that a few police officials were involved. The name of the then Nagaon SP Leena Doley cropping up in the probe and her subsequent transfer to Hailakandi after a series of protests, the disciplinary closure of service of another police official Abha Jyoti Rabha and the sacking of the Nagaon police station OC Manoj Rajbongshi, only served to perpetuate the doubt about their involvement in the minds of the people. This incident has further led to the doubts persisting about police involvement in criminal activities and the unveiling of the state of affairs in the Assam police department.”

“The death of SI Junmoni Rabha is linked to the illegal trade of fake gold in Lakhimpur district and the involvement of police officials in this trade in return for hefty commissions has now made it apparent that protectors have themselves become perpetrators. It is being alleged that SI Junmoni Rabha’s death is linked to a fallout between the police officials over the large sum of money accruing from the fake gold trade,” Bora alleged.

“The people are appalled at the alleged nexus between the operators of the Burmese areca nut trade and the police. A total of nine police officials of Bajali district including SP Siddhartha Borgohain, ASP Gayatri Sonowal, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Puskal Gogoi and his driver besides others were recently arrested for demanding huge sum of money from the ‘supari’ smugglers. On the basis of complaints to the vigilance and anti-corruption department, a number of police officials have been arrested till now after being caught red-handed accepting bribes,” the Assam TMC chief claimed.

“According to a submission by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha last year, Assam had the highest number of police encounters. Meanwhile, an affidavit submitted in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) case in the Gauhati High Court has revealed that, during the last two years of the term of Chief Minister Sarma, a total of 80 fake encounters had taken place across the state, in which 24 were killed and 48 were seriously injured in firing by the police. Moreover, the illegal bulldozing of a house belonging to an accused in Batadrava in Nagaon district drew flak from the court which ordered the state government to take action against an official responsible for the incident for taking the law into his hands,” he further said.

According to the Assam TMC President, “the corruption and activities against the people’s interest indulged in by the police during the tenure of the BJP-led Assam government are unprecedented in the annals of the state’s history.” “Due to these factors, the people are now losing faith, trust, and acceptance in the police force of the state,” Bora claimed.

The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.

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