Assam encounter: Hmar Apex body calls killing of 3 youths ‘extrajudicial’

Guwahati: Several Hmar community organisations have denounced the killing of three of its youths in an alleged encounter with Assam Police two days ago and urged the NHRC to take suo motu cognisance of these “extrajudicial” deaths.

In a statement, the Assam Hills Region of the Hmar Inpui, the community’s apex body, termed the circumstances leading to death of the three Hmar youths as “a stark violation of human rights”.

On July 17, three suspected Hmar militants were killed and three police personnel injured in a fierce encounter in Assam’s Cachar district, senior police officials had said.

Two of them were from Cachar and one was from Churachandpur in Manipur.

“The police version of the incident is found to be full of inconsistencies. Based on various videos circulated in social media, it is clear that the killings were extrajudicial and the policemen involved need to be tried in the court of law for the cold murder of three Indian citizens,” Hmar Inpui said.

The organisation’s Assam Hills Region in its statement demanded that the state government immediately institute a special commission to conduct an impartial investigation into their deaths in light of the evidence recorded on video and the “inconsistency” reported in the social media outlets.

“We also request the National Human Rights Commission to take suo motu cognisance of the deaths and notify the Assam government to institute a magisterial inquiry into the killings. The dastardly and cowardly attacks against minorities by the brutal police forces should be stopped immediately,” it added.