Guwahati, Jan. 7: Hundreds of witnesses, but not a single person willing to testify.

The first sitting organised by the one-man judicial commission probing the November 24 mob mayhem at Beltola in Guwahati was a damp squib with nobody turning up to give his/her account of the incident.

Justice (retd) R.K. Manisena Singh sat at the circuit house from 11am, hoping to see a few witnesses, if not a flood of people willing to give their version of how the Adivasi rally that day went so horribly wrong.

Two persons died and 242 were injured in the mob retaliation to arson by Adivasi rallyists campaigning for Scheduled Tribe status. The incident that evoked the strongest condemnation was three residents stripping a girl who was in the procession.

Justice Singh said the lack of witnesses willing to testify in person was not something he would lose sleep over since his office had already received six representations, including an oral one.

The representations were in response to a newspaper advertisement on December 2, seeking evidence in any form within four weeks.

“Under the Commission of Inquiries Act, I enjoy powers to get to the bottom of the truth. No one from the public with anything to say or willing to throw some light on the incident turned up (for the hearing) today. So I have ordered issuance of summons to the witnesses,” Justice Singh said.

The retired judge fixed January 17 and 18 as the dates for the second hearing.

Justice Singh took charge of the commission on November 30, two days after the government notified the judicial probe.

The government asked Justice Singh to verify the circumstances leading to the incident along Basistha Road and compile a comprehensive report by February 28.

Justice Singh will have to ascertain if there was a conspiracy behind the incident, identify the persons responsible for the violence, determine if there were lapses on the part of the administration and, if so, fix responsibility.

The terms of reference include suggesting measures to be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring.

The government has also requested the CBI to conduct a probe in the face of pressure from various quarters. The Assam Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and started an independent probe.