The leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has asked for disciplinary proceedings against the “errant” policemen for allegedly assaulting several persons, including women, during the ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus fear in Assam.

In a letter addressed to the Deba Kumar Nath, the chairman of the Assam Police Accountability Commission, Saikia said he wants the commission’s attention to video footage and newspaper report regarding police personnel assaulting some women in Morongi and other areas of Golaghat district during the lockdown. “The victims were foraging for firewood, colocasia leaves and fiddlehead fern in the bush when some policemen called them to the nearby road and caned them mercilessly,” he added.

He said apart from this there are several other reports that a few women were severely assaulted inside their homes by police and CRPF personnel in Falimari village under the Sapor police station of Dhubri district.

“Some of the victims have had to be hospitalised. This latter incident reportedly occurred during search operations to locate the culprits involved in assaulting a group of policemen on March 27. While the culprits in question deserve to be nabbed and dealt with as per the laws of the land, no sensible person can countenance such brutal punishment of women who were not directly involved in the incident.”

He said there was video footage available of two police personnel assaulting an on-duty doctor inside a hospital in Borkhola of Cachar district.

Saikia said the incident evidently took place at the behest of Kishore Nath, the BJP MLA from Borkhola LAC. “It is extremely unfortunate that despite periodic training, some policemen have still not got sensitised to acceptable operating procedure. The video of the incident in Golaghat district reveals that no policewomen were present at the site and that the victims were assaulted not by some policeman, but by an officer. This type of shameful incident is a slur on Assam police, considering that ours is a civilised, democratic country.”

He requested the chairman of the commission to recommend disciplinary proceedings against the policemen and instruct the director-general of police, Assam, to issue strict orders to prevent recurrence of “such barbaric incidents” at the hands of police personnel.