By Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
Guwahati: In a brutal show of police power, the Assam Police mercilessly beat up Faizuddin Ahmed, an elderly respectable person of village Latakhat under Dhula police station in Darrang district of Assam, during a raid at his home on 11 July 2009. Ahmed succumbed to the assault and died on the spot.
As done by other co-accused, the 74-year-old man did not go into hiding when a police team barged into his house at about 10 pm on purportedly in search of three persons including him accused in a case. The family members of the deceased state that when they insisted that he should avoid the police and answer the charge against him in the court he maintained that there was no need to go into hiding as he was innocent.
The case against him and two other persons was false and filed maliciously because he tried to intervene in a dispute involving his co-villagers to settle it amicably, say some local people. One of the parties to the dispute was not happy with him and they filed a false case against him. It is this case in connection with which the police raided his house.
According to the sources, the raiding police team demanded ten thousand rupees from him because he made them to visit his house in the night as there is a case against him. If there was no case they would not have to toil so much. It is he who is responsible for accusations against him and he had to pay for it, the policemen allegedly said. The elderly person pleaded his innocence repeatedly and told them that if they insist he could only pay them rupees two thousand. At this offer the men in uniform got infuriated and started to beat him, sources claim. The aged fragile body could not withstand the brutal assaults and succumbed at the spot.
According to the reports, the local people assembled at Faizuddin’s house and gheraoed the police team, immediately after the incident. They demanded exemplary punishment against the guilty police officers.
A case has been registered against the raiding police personnel in Dhula police station bearing No. 157/2009 and the Superintendent of Police for Darrang district Imdadul Hussain ordered to arrest the Sub-Inspector who led the erring team.
The people are shocked at the incident and demanding prompt trial and exemplary punishment for the ‘killer officers.’