Assam: Army court recommends life term for seven personnel in 1994 fake encounter case
Guwahati, Oct 14: A summary general court martial of the Army has recommended life imprisonment for seven personnel, including a major general, for murdering five student activists in Dangari in Assam’s Tinsukia district in February 1994, a senior Army official based in Guwahati told Scroll.in on Sunday. The verdict now needs to be confirmed by a “competent authority”, said a defence public relations officer.
The court martial proceedings began on July 16 at Laipuli Army Camp in the headquarters of Second Mountain Division and concluded 11 days later, reported Time 8.
In 1994, the Dholla-based 18 Punjab Regiment picked up All Assam Students’ Union leaders Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal, Bhaben Moran, Matheswar Moran, Gunin Hazarika, Prakash Sharma and Manoranjan Das from different places in Doomdooma in Tinsukia between February 17 and 19, following the murder of a tea estate executive. Militants belonging to the United Liberation Front of Assam are believed to have carried out the murder.
The Army personnel reportedly took Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran near the Dangari river and gunned them down in a fake encounter. The Gauhati High Court, which heard a habeas corpus petition filed by a leader of the students’ union, ordered the Army to produce the nine activist at the nearest police station. However, the Army brought the bodies of the five activists, triggering statewide protests.
The Central Bureau of Investigation then investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against the Army personnel accused in the case. The Army personnel are Major General AK Lal, Colonel Thomas Mathew, Colonel RS Sibiren, Captain Dilip Singh, Captain Jagdeo Singh, Naik Albinder Singh and Naik Shivendar Singh.
Courtesy: scroll.in
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IRGC warns of retaliation after energy sites hit; Gulf nations issue Emergency Alerts
Tehran/Riyadh/Doha: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a strong warning after attacks on its energy infrastructure, saying it will retaliate against those responsible.
A spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said “the fuel, energy and gas infrastructures” of countries behind the attacks “will be burned and turned to ashes at the earliest opportunity”.
“This is a firm and clear warning to the criminals who attacked part of Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructures in the south of the country,” the statement, carried by Iran’s Mehr news agency, said.
“We declare to the cowardly and aggressive army of the criminal America and the barbaric and child-killing Zionist regime that you will have to throw your soldiers into the water and throw your dignity into the wind,” it added.
The warning comes as Gulf countries step up emergency measures amid fears of further escalation.
Saudi Arabia’s National Early Warning Platform for Emergency Cases issued alerts warning of danger in the Riyadh and al-Kharj governorates. Residents were cautioned about a possible aerial threat.
In Qatar, reports indicate that Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG production facility, is being evacuated. The move follows Iran’s warning that it may target energy infrastructure in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Ras Laffan was previously attacked on March 2 in the early phase of the conflict, after which QatarEnergy had temporarily paused production.
Authorities have reportedly asked workers and residents in specific areas to evacuate as a precaution.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged of two loud explosions in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. Residents there have received alerts warning of a possible aerial attack.
The situation across the Gulf region remains tense as military threats and countermeasures continue to escalate.
