Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced on Saturday that his government had decided to institute a judicial probe into the death of two students in an encounter between a joint team of police and the Army and militants of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbjit) at Raidangbari under Runikhata police station in Chirang district under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) on December 10 night.
The State government had earlier announced an Additional Chief Secretary-level probe into the incident after family members and local residents alleged that the two “innocent school students — Pranjit Narzary (Class VI) and Jirimia Narzary (Class X) — were killed in a “fake encounter” and that they had never been associated with the militant outfit as the police claimed. The Assam police claimed that an AK-47 rifles, a grenade and some ammunitions were found from the site of the encounter which they claimed had occurred after militants fired at the security forces on being challenged.
The Chief Minister said he had decided to institute a judicial probe as people might have apprehension about a government probe.
