On the morning of February 24, the Assam Police gunned down a man in an alleged encounter and claimed that he was Kenaram Basumutary, a surrendered Bodo militant and a “veteran criminal”. Complaints by a distressed family, an exhumation and a DNA analysis later, it now emerges the police killed someone else. On February 25, when Baneswar Muchahary, a resident of Jengrengpara village in Baksa district, saw local news flashing images of “dreaded criminal” Kenaram Basumutary, who, they said, had been killed in a police encounter in neighbouring Udalguri district, he was shocked. He was sure that he was looking at photos of his younger brother, 40-year-old Dimbeswar, who hadn't been seen since he left home two days earlier, on February 23. “We went to our local police station and told the officer there that the body looks like that of my brother. He said that since the shooting had happened under Rowta police station, we should go there. We went there and told them the same thing. They looked at photos of my brother and told us to go to the Udalguri district police headquarters. We met the additional SP and we were told to submit a prayer,” said Baneswar. But the police stood by their claim that Kenaram was a surrendered cadre of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland and a prime accused in several cases of armed robbery. By then, Kenaram's family had identified the body as his and, according to a statement by the Chief PRO of Assam Police, carried out his last rites at Natun Panbari village in Orang late evening on February 24. “The body was handed over with a written receipt of the mother of the deceased in the presence of two witnesses after inquest, and post mortem was conducted by following proper procedure,” read the statement issued on February 26. However, following the plea by Dimbeswar’s family, the district magistrate issued an order to exhume the body. On March 2, the body was exhumed and the CID was roped in to inquire into the case. Later, A DNA analysis confirmed that the body was indeed that of Dimbeswar. According to his brother Baneswar, Dimbeswar cultivated paddy and grew lemons in the village where he lived with his wife and three children. "On February 22, we had a wedding in our village and this person who we now know was Kenaram had come two days before that. We didn't know who he was but he called Dimbeswar and they left together on February 23," he said. According to the police, the alleged encounter took place during an ambush at Dhansirikhuti Daifang village under Rowta police station based on an input on a planned robbery by Kenaram. “In pursuit of committing robbery, one of the individuals confronted the police team with a 7.65 mm pistol and fired upon the police team causing grievous injury to 1 police sub-inspector and 1 constable. Having come under continuous fire, in self-defence, the police team retaliated and as a result, one of the accused sustained bullet injury…The second individual fled the scene on the motor bike,” read a statement by the police CPRO, adding that the accused person was declared dead when taken to a nearby hospital. An investigation into the encounter has now been transferred to the CID. “If Kenaram was such a wanted person, would his photo not be there in all the police stations? How come they could not see that it was not him,” asks Baneswar. While police now admit that the person they killed was not Kenaram, they maintain that Dimbeswar was “also a veteran criminal with modus operandi of armed robberies”. Assam DGP G P Singh told The Indian Express, "A person who shot at police died in exchange of fire. A veteran criminal’s family came to the police station and identified the body as that of Kenaram Basumutary, claimed it and cremated it. The family of another person, Dimbeswar Muchahary, subsequently claimed the body. They also claimed that Dimbeswar Muchahary was a farmer and innocent. On receipt of this information, police looked into the background of Dimbeswar Muchahary and found his extensive criminal background. Previous cases reveal that Kenaram and Dimbeswar were part of the same gang and have been accused in the same cases together. A DNA profiling established the body to be of Dimbeswar. I am yet to understand why police are facing all this flak since the body was identified by Kenaram’s family and handed over per rules." His family, however, say they are unaware of Dimbeswar's criminal record.
