Assam police set up SIT, 5 arrested
GUWAHATI : Five people were arrested and 15 others were detained in connection with Saturday’s mob attack on a police station in Nagaon district of Assam following the custodial death of a fish trader, police said on Sunday.
A mob of nearly 200-250 people attacked an old building of the Batadrava police station on Saturday afternoon following the death of fish trader Safiqul Islam who was detained by local police on Friday evening.
The Assam police has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the mob attack and a separate probe team to investigate the death of Islam.
Assam Police DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta on Sunday said Islam was picked up by police after being found in a drunken state and admitted that he died while in police custody. “Technically, he has died in police custody. In order to know whether the death was due to any police action, a probe by a police officer from another district, has been started. It won’t be surprising if police had some role in his death as well. But that will be known after the probe is over.”Authorities carried out a demolition drive in Salanibari area on Sunday, razing houses of some of the accused. According to Mahanta, police found suspicious activity at some homes in the area. “In order to investigate that and clean the area, we have razed some homes and if required we will conduct digging in the area as well. We have reason to believe that there was a conspiracy behind the attack and our investigation will focus on that,” said Mahanta.
He added that there were elements of preparation in the attack on the police station, which were the outcome of
“organized and systematic planning”. He added that some terror elements including those with links to Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a terror outfit from Bangladesh with links to Al Qaida in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS), could have also played a role in Saturday’s incident.
Regarding the attack on the police station, special DGP (law and order), GP Singh, said, “...We have registered a case and arrested five persons and detained 15 others for questioning. A SIT has been formed to probe the incident. It will complete investigations within 45 days and file charge sheet within 60 days.”