The gruesome death of Priya Basumatary: Will Tarun Gogoi give her justice?

While India was busy expressing its outrage on the alleged firing by Assam and Central police personnel on innocent protesters in Golaghat district on 20 August,  a 16-year-old teenager Priya Basumatary was being brutally assassinated in another part of the state on the same day. The only difference is that the bullets weren’t fired from police guns and her death took a while to capture the headlines. Too caught up with the the Assam-Nagaland border issue, many of us failed to comprehend the magnitude of Priya’s death. As details that have now emerged reveal, the bright Class-X student from Runikhata Girls’ High School in Laimati–Dwimuguri village was brutally murdered in front of her family and other villagers by a militant organisation which suspected her of being a police informer.[caption id=“attachment_1686485” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rule of the barrel. Reuters[/caption] They dragged the girl out of her house and beat her up severely before killing her. Her parents were also severely beaten up and are now recuperating at a private hospital in Bongaigaon district. Her siblings somehow managed to save themselves. The killing of Priya around 4.30 pm was preceded by the death of five members of IK Sangbijit-led National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) militants who were gunned down in an encounter at Dwimuguri by a joint team of Assam Police and Indian Army on the same day at around 5.30 am. As soon as the news about Priya spread, the already cornered state government found itself in a tight spot. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi hurriedly announced a bravery award of Rs 20 lakh as financial assistance to the next of kin and said that his government would institute a bravery award in the name of Priya Basumatary. He also said he would recommend the girl’s name for the national bravery award. “Our government will perpetuate the hallowed memory of the little brave girl who defied the dictates of the killers. Her valour and sacrifice will continue to inspire and motivate the young generation for years to come,” Gogoi said in an official statement released on 24 August. The move earned immediate criticism from the opposition. “It is ridiculous that a chief minister, who cannot ensure security of the citizens despite having the army at its disposal, is talking about an award in the memory of an innocent schoolgirl whose body kept lying in the open for more than 24 hours,” said Bodo People’s Front (BPF) legislator and former minister Pramila Rani Brahma told reporters. “Why did the government announce such a big amount of Rs 20 lakh? Earlier they have not done that. This amount has forced people to think that the girl was indeed used for spying,” BPF secretary Prabin Boro told Firstpost over phone from Baksa. The police is however denying that there were any lapses on their part in retrieving the body. Chirang superintendent of police Ranjan Bhuyan, speaking to Firstpost. blamed the delay on heavy rains and lack of cooperation from the villagers. Security personnel finally brought the body to Kajalgaon Civil Hospital where the post-mortem was conducted the next day on 22 August. Her body was handed over to her relatives the same day and was cremated in her native village under police escort. “The body was in the morgue within 24 hours body and not 48 hours as some are reporting. The morgue entry time will make everything clear,” Bhuyan said. However, BPF leader Boro claims the delay “reflects the weakness of the police as they did not go to the area for fear of ambush”. Notwithstanding the flak the police faced, it is a fact that there are practical problems in the region. Dwimuguri is accessible is only on foot from Runikhata where there are three rivers in between with no bridges on them. Moreover, there is no electricity in the area. “Our bosses in Guwahati also finds it difficult to comprehend the complexity of the terrain. Even the army does not have boats making it even more difficult for us,” said Runikhata police outpost officer-in-charge sub-inspector Manoj Narzary, adding “The moment we are there all men from these villages simply vanishes into jungles leaving the women and children behind. This non-cooperation obviously out of fear is another impediment for us.” “But operations are on to nab the culprits although no arrests have been made so far,” Narzary said. The NDFB(S) deputy army chief G Bidai alias Bishnu Goyari released a video claiming credit for the killing, saying his men were “punishing” Priya for helping the police. The militants openly displayed US made weapons in the video sending a chill down the spine. It also showed the Priya’s body lying unattended in an attempt to warn others of dire consequences. “They procure these M-16 rifles and even AK-series weapons from Myanmar via Nagaland and Manipur. We have intensified our operations to seize these weapons. In fact, a couple of days back we destroyed an IED device in Panbari that was placed on the road to target security personnel,” Bhuyan said. The usual political blame game is in danger of obscuring the tragedy and injustice of Priya’s death. It is time for the Gogoi government to deliver and come clean on many accounts. “Priya’s voiceless parents need a voice today. We can at best advocate for justice. It is the state that should give voice to these isolated souls,” Digambar Narzary, chairperson, NEDAN Foundation told Firstpost.