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| Shillong jail |
Shillong, May 17: The Justice (retd) S.P. Rajkhowa judicial inquiry commission, which is probing the Shillong jailbreak, will resume its hearing on June 4.
The sitting of the commission was delayed in order to examine more witnesses before completion of the probe.
Seven undertrial prisoners, led by Full Moon Dhar, had escaped from the Shillong Jail on May 31, 2009. The next day, Dhar was killed in an alleged fake encounter while the others were re-arrested. Subsequently, the government ordered a judicial probe into the jailbreak and the circumstances leading to Dhar’s death.
While the probe was in progress, Agnes Kharshiing, convener of the Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy (SCAMoD), which was formed to follow up the jailbreak case, filed a petition in the Shillong bench of Gauhati High Court last year, seeking its intervention to examine more witnesses. On October 20 last year, the court stayed the hearing of the commission.
However, on May 4, the court allowed the commission to resume the hearing.
The court urged the commission to take into consideration the forensic report of the pellets recovered from Dhar’s body during the second post-mortem and then consider whether it was essential to call the forensic science laboratory examiner and the doctor who conducted the second post-mortem.
The court also observed that for a just decision of the case, it was up to the commission to examine sub-inspector R.A. Sangma, who conducted first inquest of Dhar’s body.
An official associated with the commission today said during the hearing on June 4, the commission would seek the opinion of both the parties on the issue of examination of more witnesses.
With the state government extending the commission’s tenure for four more months since March 17, the commission will now conclude its hearing by July 17.
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