Assam Police accused of torturing a Garo woman in Goalpara

A Garo woman from Lower Nogolpara village in Meghalaya’s North Garo Hills was severely beaten and tortured at the Dudhnoi police station in Assam's Goalpara district in connection with a coal theft case, causing outrage among Meghalaya Garo organizations.

SI Bishnu Bahadur Newar and lady police constable Mamata Joshi, who was allegedly involved in "police brutality" case of the Garo woman, both have been suspended.

At the Dudhnoi police station, the two officers were charged under sections 294/384/354/325/342/34 of the Indian Penal Code. According to officials, an independent investigation is also ordered, and the accused will face legal consequences.

"On July 4, around 2 p.m., some police officers from the Dudhnol police station called me and my husband, Sengkal R Marak." I went there with my husband and asked why we were called that. They claimed that on June 25, a person named Dhrubananda Choudhury of Goalpara filed an FIR against us, claiming that "on February 24, 2021, he paid Rs 95,000 and gave 29.30 tonnes of coal to my husband with a direction to deliver the amount and coal at Dainadubi, but my husband has not given him the money and coal."

The cops began threatening the couple with filthy language as soon as they arrived at the police station, according to the FIR. Dhrubananda Choudhury and the police officers even demanded Rs 20 lakh in cash at the police station.

According to the reports, the police eventually let her husband go and asked him to manage Rs 20 lakh while locking the wife inside the police station. When her husband did not return by 3 p.m., the female police constable, and other officers allegedly assaulted her with sticks and cable wire and insulted her dignity. She sustained severe injuries to her legs, hands, and "all over my body" as a result.

The victim accused some police officers of not allowing her to go to the hospital but the cops managed the specific papers and obtained the signatures of the doctor on duty.

The Garo Students' Union, Assam State Zone (GSU-ASZ) protested the incident and wrote to the Goalpara superintendent of police, requesting immediate action.