Visuals show Assam Rifles personnel ‘torturing’ jawan

The Assam Rifles finds itself in yet another controversy. This time, it has been accused of putting to torture its rifleman Hyder Ali...

The Assam Rifles (AR) finds itself in yet another controversy. This time, it has been accused of putting to torture its rifleman Hyder Ali, who is facing a court martial and is under detention.

Visuals of Ali being handcuffed and roughed up by AR personnel are being circulated and have been shown on television channels. This at a time when four senior officers of the force have been served contempt notices by the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court for willfully disobeying its order by not allowing Ali’s wife Shahar Bano to meet him last month.

Talking to The Indian Express on Monday, the force’s PRO Col. S S Gill said, “As the case is sub judice I would not like to comment on it.” On the issue of denying Bano the permission to meet Ali, Gill said the allegation was not true and that she was allowed to meet the rifleman.

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With regard to the contempt notice, he said the AR had not received it but the legal department would be the authority, which can respond to the query. Ali’s lawyer Raghvendra Jha said the Shillong Bench had given the AR authorities two weeks to respond to the contempt notice. Reacting to Gill’s statement, Jha said, “Ali was only allowed to talk to his wife over telephone and was not given the permission to meet.”

Sources said the visual footage that showed Ali being handcuffed and beaten up was taken by AR so that it could act as a deterrent to other jawans against disobeying the authorities. However, to the embarrassment of the AR, Ali’s sympathisers leaked the visuals.

Ali came into the limelight when he defied his Commandant’s order to shave off his beard and initiated a signature campaign for highlighting jawans’ grievances, which was later sent to the President, Union Home Minister and Defence Minister. He had sought permission from his officer to grow a beard in 1996, which was granted. However, when a new Commandant ordered he should shave off his beard he refused and was court martialled in 1997 for “willful defiance”.

In 2002, the Delhi High Court set aside the court martial. AR then moved the Supreme Court but it upheld the HC order and Ali was reinstated with the beard and posted to Manipur in 2004.

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In response to the representation, which was signed by 1912 jawans, the Union Government directed AR to look into the complaint. However, instead of redressing the jawans’ grievances, the AR allegedly implicated Ali on false charges of having twisted the finger of his superior by using criminal force, disobeying willful command and violation of good order and military discipline.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that Ali would be transferred from 13 Assam Rifles in Ukhrul to 21 Assam Rifles in Kakching, also in Manipur, on Tuesday.