Durga Puja Committees across town unite to submit memorandum, demands actions against the culprits of October 6 violence

The post-Dashami day brawl at Ambicapatty took a heated turn and it resulted in the filing of an FIR against the Tapoban Nagar Durga Puja Committee. The FIR led to the arrest of a few miscreants who allegedly assaulted the Ambicapatty locals including women and children. At least 15 different Durga Puja committees including Ambicapur Purba Para Durga Puja Committee have today filed a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar demanding actions. They have also alleged that the miscreants were bailed out by the police just a day after they were arrested. Along with Ambicapur, members of other puja committees of that locality also signed the memorandum unitedly.

The gathered members of different clubs and committees have asked the question of how the miscreants were bailed by the police when they committed non-bailable offences. The memorandum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner describing the incident of October 6 mentioned, “at the tri-junction of Ambicapaty-Hospital Road in between 8.00 PM to 10 PM some anti-social elements of the Tapoban Nagar and adjoining areas (got involved in) molesting women, beating innocent persons and causing serious injuries, the different Puja Committees of Silchar Town held a meeting at the Bilpar Durga Bari, Lochan Bairagi Road, in presence of the Office Bearers of different committees and General Public of not less than ten thousand, discuss the reason of the aforesaid incident, heard from the victims and thereafter adopted resolution to approach the administration for stern action against the culprits and also expressing that if no appropriate actions taken all the committees will form a Coordination Committee to decide the future course of action”.

The memorandum also mentioned, “It has been witnessed in the recent times that some people of Tapoban Nagar and the surrounding localities are engaged in various illegal works like drug trafficking, land grabbing and in order to establish their authority, such people commit various atrocities on the general public. The life of the people of College Road, Chincoorie Road, Ashram Road etc., has already been made hell by the aforesaid perpetrators (Tapoban Nagar locals) of crime. The entire Tapoban Nagar and the surrounding localities have become a hub of criminal activities and such activities have been extended up to the Ambicapatty, Hospital Road Tri Junction where an illegal E-Rickshaw stand is being maintained by those people”.

The President of Ambicapur Purbapara Durga Puja Committee Tamil Kanti Banik said, “In the last 5-6 years we have seen that on the day of Dashami and days following it, there were fewer security forces in the town area leading to the immersion ghat. This results in various unfortunate incidents which affect the people of these areas. This year, on October 6, one such indecent happened and could have been averted if there were security forces in action like during the Durga Puja days. One such puja committee was going to the immersion ghat via Ashram Road, Chencoorie Road and Ambicapatty Tri-Junction. In the tri-junction, some members of the puja committee got involved in violent activities and the rest is known to all. We have submitted a memorandum to the DC demanding actions against the miscreants of this club who caused violence”.

Banik has also alleged that the arrested miscreants were bailed out by the police and said, “When the FIR was first submitted the police didn’t accept it but later when it was submitted again the police accepted the FIR application and accordingly arrested few miscreants in this case. But what has come to our notice is that these miscreants were released by the police without any bail from the court. How can the police do so on their own is a big question”.

Adding about the legalities of the matter Advocate Saumen Choudhury from the puja committees’ side said, “The FIR that was filed based on the incident mentioned the molestation of women which comes under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, which is a non-bailable offence. Those who have been attacked are severely injured which means it was an attempt to murder which falls under section 326 of the IPC, which also is a non-bailable offence. The police can not bail when the culprits have been booked under non-bailable sections and this is a matter to be investigated by the senior police officers on how they were bailed out”. The gathered members of different puja committees there have demanded actions against the miscreants and the puja committee and if any actions are taken against these culprits, they have warned of a mass movement forming a coordination committee with all the members of the puja committees.