[Assam] All the Indian security forces and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (Assam & Manipur) should be in the dock if India is a real democracy.

[Bartta Bistar]

*Army speeds up probe pace
*

-         *Court martial in Ajit case from today *

* *

*http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060603/asp/northeast/story_6304721.asp*

OUR BUREAU

 File picture of Ajit Mahanta's body

*Guwahati/Dibrugarh, June 2: The mere hint of another Ulfa-backed campaign
for "justice" in the Ajit Mahanta custody death case has forced a jittery
Dispur to write to the defence establishment to expedite the probe and sent
the army scurrying to announce a court martial against the guilty personnel.
*

An army team had picked up Ajit, a daily-wage earner from Hunjan Gossaigaon
under Kakopathar police station of Tinsukia district, on February 4 for
allegedly having links with Ulfa militants. Loopholes in the army's version
of how he died in custody and its failure to provide a shred of evidence
against the victim led to an outpouring of anger that later enveloped the
entire state.

Maj. Gen. J. Ashoka Rao, general-officer-commanding of the Dinjan-based 2
Mountain Division, told *The Telegraph *that the personnel responsible for
the custody death would face a court martial, beginning tomorrow. "The 2
Mountain Division has been assigned the responsibility of conducting the
exercise," he said.

The army officer, however, declined to divulge the names of the army
personnel in the dock.

A three-member court of inquiry headed by Brig. A.S. Minhas, deputy
commander of the 2 Mountain Division, had completed its task in 10 days but
the court martial was delayed.

The Ulfa yesterday used its mouthpiece, *Freedom, *to urge various
organisations that had spearheaded the agitation in Kakopathar to intensify
it if the army failed to punish the guilty by June 10. Dispur immediately
wrote to the defence authorities for a quick inquiry, hoping it would calm
the pressure groups being propped up by Ulfa.

A senior government official said the anti-army uprising in Kakopathar and
the fallout — eight people were killed in firing by the CRPF on protesters
and one of the injured died later — had embarrassed the previous government
and the Congress was wary of a repeat in its second innings.

He confirmed that the Tarun Gogoi government had urged the army to bring the
personnel involved in the custody death to book at the earliest, but did not
specify to whom the letter had been addressed. Defence minister Pranab
Mukherjee had promised quick action in the wake of the agitation in
Kakopathar.

An army source said the services of senior civilian lawyers had been
requisitioned for prosecution and defense at the court martial. He also said
Ajit's wife, Kadami, and the civilian driver of the vehicle in which the
victim's body had been taken to the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh,
would be summoned to the proceedings.

Some other civilians and army officials are expected to be cross-examined,
too.

The army has already paid Rs 2.05 lakh in compensation to Ajit's family,
built a small concrete house for the family in a nearby village and taken
the responsibility of financing the education of the victim's two children.
The government chipped in with ex-gratia and a job for Kadami.

Dispur's apprehensions following Ulfa's appeal for a renewed agitation stems
from the fact that a peace process is under way. The government official,
however, said Dispur's plea to the defence authorities had nothing to do
with Ulfa's statement in *Freedom*.





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