In what has raised serious questions on the Army’s role in counter-insurgency operations in Assam, the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies have concluded that the January 20 encounter in which the Army killed Lalit Moran in Tinsukia district was faked.
Saying a magisterial inquiry had been ordered, security sources said the Army, which amended its initial version, claimed Lalit was killed in a crossfire during a gunbattle between the Army and suspected rebels. Investigations by the intelligence agencies, however, found Moran, a resident of Tingrai Tamuli village near the forest, was caught and shot dead by the Army on suspicion of being an Ulfa cadre, which he was not.
He had gone to the forest to collect firewood with his friends, who managed to escape.
The police also said there was nothing to indicate that the youth had any militant links.
The security sources said this was not the first such incident involving the Army. While handing over the bodies of three youth — Shiva Moran, Janak Moran and Dhiraj Dwara of Makum — to the police on December 26, 2011, the Army filed an FIR claiming the three were killed in crossfire between the Army and suspected rebels.
The Army claimed it recovered the bullet-ridden bodies from the Namasai reserve forest. The youths, all residents of Makum in Tinsukia district, had gone missing a day before their bodies were recovered. The Intelligence Bureau and other investigators failed to find any evidence showing the slain youth had any role in militancy.
The security sources noted in no case had any harsh punishment been meted out to the Army personnel responsible, saying such incidents were strengthening anti-India sentiments.