Assam police will emerge as the best police force by 2026, and for that efforts are being undertaken by the state government, asserted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Speaking with reporters, CM Sarma highlighted the state government's effort to shape the Assam police as a people-friendly force.
"There are around 60,000-70,000 police personnel, and home guards in Assam and the presence of 2-3 per cent black sheep is natural. Our effort is to shape the Assam police as a people-friendly force. It is not easy to make this, because the Assam police became a force dealing with insurgency from the time of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)," he said.
"When the force was busy in dealing with insurgency then its mentality has changed as it has alienated from the people," he added.
Further, CM Sarma said the insurgency problem has been solved by almost 90 per cent and the police will have to work to stay among the people so that it can build friendly relations and fight against new-age crimes like cybercrime, digital crime, cheating etc.
"Therefore, we have given importance to strengthening forensics, DNA fingerprint and the mentality of the Assam police should be changed. For which, efforts of action, and removal of black sheep will be continued. By 2026 we will have the best police force," he said.
It is pertinent to mention how Assam police has been receiving a lot of flak recently for their handling of cases in regards to recent events. In Guwahati, the Satgaon police are facing serious allegations of covering up a heinous crime where a mother-daughter duo was gang-raped by eight assailants after breaking into their house.
It is alleged that police initially did not register charges of rape in their case. The matter only came to light after the medical report from the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) confirmed rape which led to the police adding charges of IPC Section 376 to the case.
The police reportedly threatened the victims and the neighbours and told them to not talk to media persons about the incident.
Fretting that the mother will go to the media, the police reportedly summoned them to the police station on various occasions without sufficient reason, mentioned some of the neighbours.
Moreover, the mysterious death of Sub-Inspector (SI) of Morikolong, Junmoni Rabha, added more to the list. The case made headlines in the state with protests being held in several regions demanding justice for the deceased cop.
The case become so sensitive that the public lost their trust in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam police and demanded that the probe be carried out by a central agency (CBI). Several organizations demanded a thorough investigation into the ‘mysterious’ death of Junmoni Rabha.
“So many clues have been unearthed indicating foul play in Junmoni Rabha’s death, yet the government and state police are remaining silent. The fact that Nagaon SP Leena Doley deliberately murdered Junmoni has now come to light,” one of the protestors said.
“The government is trying to cover up the issue by transferring Leena Doley to another district but that won’t change things. We demand strict action against Leena Doley, be it Reserved Closed or suspension,” he added.
Another protestor said, “The people of Assam were slowly gaining trust in Assam police but this incident has opened our eyes. We have lost all faith in Assam police.”
Notably, a leader of the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) was also present at the protest site who also acknowledged that Junmoni Rabha’s death was a premeditated murder.
“Junmoni’s death might be being proclaimed as a road accident by the police, but the people of Assam are very well aware that it was a premeditated murder,” he said.
Upon being asked if the people are happy with the case being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he said, “We are satisfied but the investigation is going very slowly. The investigation must not be delayed.”
