Gaurav Gogoi to move NHRC over death of 5 youth in 2019 anti-CAA protests

Titabor, August 19: The Opposition Congress is set to approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding the deaths of five individuals during protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam in 2019.

Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi expressed concerns about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, questioning the manner in which these individuals were killed.

“I will seek an NHRC investigation into the deaths of these five young people. We need to know who was responsible—whether it was the police or someone else. Despite the numerous CCTVs in Guwahati, the culprits have yet to be identified,” Gogoi stated at a felicitation ceremony in Titabor on Sunday.

Gogoi further noted that if the individuals had broken the law, they should have been legally processed rather than killed. "Their deaths raise many questions. Moreover, they have not been honoured as martyrs," he stressed.

The five victims—Sam Stafford, Dipanjal Das, Ishwar Nayak, Abdul Alim, and Dwijendra Panging—were allegedly killed in police firing during a protest against the CAA in December 2019.

Gogoi, the Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, also criticised the CAA for violating the Assam Accord of 1985, which was intended to protect the identity of the Assamese people.

“The ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh is creating a precarious situation in Assam. Had the Assam Accord been properly implemented, it would have been the suraksha kavach against illegal infiltration,” he added.

Earlier, on August 14, the Union Home Ministry granted its first citizenship under the CAA to a Bangladeshi national residing in Assam. Dulan Kumar Das, originally from Baragram in the Sylhet district of Bangladesh, became the first person in Assam to receive Indian citizenship under the CAA.

Gogoi also alleged that, alongside Indian citizenship, land pattas have been issued to Bangladeshi nationals in Assam, displacing the tea garden community.

“The government aims to silence the tea garden community regarding land scams, as they build resorts, destroy the tea industry, and leave the community unemployed," Gogoi added.