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Silchar, Sept. 25: The Hailakandi district court handed varying sentences to four police officials — including current officer-in-charge of Hailakandi town police station Abdul High Choudhury — yesterday in connection with the custody killing of Noorul Haque, a 32-year-old man accused in a robbery case.
Choudhury, current officer-in-charge of Dwarbond police station Parag Konwar and former officer-in-charge of Hailakandi police station Binode Phukan were sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000.
The fourth accused, Bilal Uddin — an ASI of the Panchgram police station — was sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000.
Since yesterday morning, hundreds of locals thronged the district court where district and sessions judge Naba Kumar Bora announced the much- awaited verdict to the 19-year-old case.
All the four accused were booked under Sections 304 part II, 201 and 120 B IPC.
The case goes back to March 1993 when Noorul Haque, then aged 32, was picked up for an alleged robbery and tortured to death in police custody in Hailakand Sadar police station.
Haque’s death had set off a wave of protests among the people of Hailakandi and soon the demand for an investigation into his death gathered momentum.
The Hailakandi court’s bar association joined the protests and moved the Supreme Court for a CBI investigation into the case.
The apex court asked the Centre to begin a CBI probe on 24 January, 1994.
The CBI wrapped up the case in 1996 and the trials began soon after.
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