80 Deaths in Assam Police Encounters and Custody Since 2021: Official Assembly Report

Assam Assembly was informed on Saturday that eighty individuals have died in police custody or encounters since 2021, with magisterial inquiries conducted for 78 of these cases, as stated by state minister Rupesh Goala.

During the final day of the winter session, Goala responded to a question from Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, revealing that 39 deaths occurred in police custody, while 41 people died before they could be presented in court.

The minister provided a yearly breakdown of these fatalities: 31 deaths in 2021, 18 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 8 deaths recorded until November 19 this year.

Over the past four-and-a-half years, 223 suspected criminals sustained injuries during police encounters. The distribution of these injuries was 67 in 2021, 79 in 2022, 35 in 2023, 35 in 2024, and 7 so far this year, all resulting from police firing.

According to Goala, 180 magisterial investigations were conducted under the Criminal Procedure Code and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

He emphasized that these inquiries followed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines on encounter deaths, which require report submissions within 48 hours of any death occurring during police action.

A high-level inquiry was also conducted regarding the alleged encounter killing of three Hmar youths in Cachar district.

When Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia inquired about prison capacity and conditions in Assam's jails, the minister responded that the state's prisons have a capacity of 11,372 inmates, with 11,241 individuals currently housed across various detention facilities.