One day after a youth allegedly died in the custody of the army in the newly-created Biswanath district in northern Assam, the army has claimed that the person had complained of chest pain, following which he was admitted to a hospital where he took his last breath. While the incident has already evoked massive protests in the district, a press release issued by its Guwahati-based PRO said an army unit had picked up a cadre of the Birsa Commando Force (BCF) – identified as Sonagadi Nag – on the basis of specific intelligence from Naya Gogra village on Tuesday morning. "The apprehended BCF cadre led the patrol party to a hideout where he dug out a 9-mm pistol, one magazine and five live rounds of ammunition." Even as the army troops were on their way back to hand over the alleged militant to the nearest police station, he complained of chest pain and uneasiness. While he was first taken to the Government Hospital at Gohpur, doctors there recommended that the person be shifted to Tezpur Medical Colleege Hospital. "En route, due to the deteriorating condition of the cadre, he was taken to the Government Hospital at Biswanath Chariali, where the medical officer tried to resuscitate the individual and thereafter declared him ‘dead’ at around 2 PM,” the Army PRO in a statement said. He also informed that the army authorities are carrying out a detailed investigation of the incident. Meanwhile, an FIR has been lodged by the Army at the Gohpur police station. Meanwhile, even as several organizations have accused the Army of torturing and causing physical injury to the youth during custody leading to his death, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Wednesday demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident. "The Army had picked up four youth from Naya Gogra tea estate on suspicion of they having link with a militant organization, and one of them died mysteriously in the army camp. It is suspected that the death may have been caused due to torture on him by the army. While the four youth were picked up without information of the civil administration, the latter was informed only after one of them died in custody,” Ripun Bora, vice-president and spokesman of the APPC said here on Wednesday evening.
