GAURANGA CH DAS Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is for adequate compensation for the particular action on the part of the Army which the petitioner alleges to be unauthorised. In the particular action, the son of the petitioner was shot at by the Army personnel from a short distance, as a consequence of which he had to undergone treatment and allegedly sustained permanent disability to his left leg.

(2.) As the story goes, it was on 4.4.2002 the victim Sri Dhruba Das @ Dipu was on his duty in the office of the daily newspaper namely Dainik Jugasankha of which he was an employee. After finishing his job, while he was coming back to his residence at morning hours, he was surrounded by some unidentified persons with arms in the campus of the newspaper office. Being frightened, Dhruba started running towards the nearby hotel namely Krishna. While he reached the hotel, he was again surrounded by the said armed personnel and apprehended him. Dhruba then disclosed his identity as an employee of the said newspaper. However, the said armed personnel did not listen to him and fired at him from a short distance, which resulted in serious injury on his left leg (left thigh).

(3.) As a consequence of the said bullet injury, Dhruba fell down on the floor of the hotel. The owner of the hotel identified Dhruba and told the armed personnel that Dhruba was an employee of the newspaper. Thereafter, the said personnel took Dhruba to Silchar Medical College where he was admitted. Hearing the news, the petitioner i.e. the father of Dhruba rushed to the Hospital and could come to know about the whole incident. He also came to know that the armed personnel were in fact Army personnel and they were in search of Kuki extremists on receipt of a secret information.