"My brother was shot on his chest not back," "My husband wasn't a criminal"; Abul Hussain's family alleges foul play, demands probe

Abul Hussain, a 24-year-old resident of Auliya Bazaar, Uttar Krishnapur was shot dead by Cachar Police on July 3, 2022. In the same encounter, Kamrul Islam Barbhuiya, alias Lakoi was also killed. The Cachar Police maintained that both Hussain and Barbhuiya were trying to escape from the custody during transfer from Jorabat to Silchar. Cachar SP said that to prevent them from escaping, the Police opened fire during which both of them incurred bullet injuries and eventually succumbed.

Today, Abul Hussain’s wife and and brother issued a statement and through the press, appealed to the government of Assam to launch a detailed probe into the encounter. “My brother was a tanker driver. He was off to Guwahati with his tanker along with his handyman. Lakoi was not arrested with them, in fact, Lakoi was arrested from a different place,” said Abdul Hamid. Contradicting Cachar SP, who said all three were together when the Police nabbed them.

Abdul Hamid added, “My brother’s hands were tied and he was masked with a black piece of cloth. From such custody, how is it that my brother manages to escape. Even if he has tried to escape, why is it that the Police did not try to shoot him on his leg? We washed his mortal remains and there wasn’t a part where he wasn’t hurt. Also, my brother was shot on his chest and not back. All the bullet wounds were in the frontal part of his body.”

He appealed to the government of Assam for a probe into this encounter. At the same time, he pressed charges against Ameer Hussain (Tarmuj Ali). “He is a land mafia who dragged my brother into this issue. He deals with arms and is a renowned criminal. It is sad that he is roaming freely and my bother is rotting at the grave,” added Abdul Hamid.

It is worth mentioning here that Abul Hussain has been identified as prime accused in a property dispute case lodged at Rangirkhari Police Station. On June 30, there was a firing over a property dispute following which a Police complaint was registered and the SP said, during the investigation, Abul Hussain emerged as the prime accused and so, OC Silchar initiated an operation to nab him. While after him, the SP said, they caught wanted criminal Lakoi and one 22-year-old Anwar Hussain.

While Abdul Hamid states that Abul Hussain’s hands were tied and face was masked, he does not reveal the source of this information. However, the image shared by Cachar Police also shows both accused with their hands tied.

Wife of Abul Hussain claimed innocence. “My husband has been killed at the age of 24. I have a kid on my lap, I have my whole life ahead. Who will care for us now, our entire life becomes uncertain. There are no criminal records against my husband and never ever did a Police official enter our house searching for him. Now he is being called a dacoit. I beg to the government for a probe into the matter,” said his wife.

Meanwhile, the office of the deputy commissioner, Cachar, has already issued an order directing magisterial enquiry into the circumstances that led to the death of the two accused.