On 17 May 1996, journalist and human rights activist Parag Kumar Das was shot by unidentified gunmen in Guwahati, in the northeastern state of Assam. Das, the editor-in-chief of the daily “Asomiya Pratidin”, was picking his son up from school when three men drove up in an automobile and opened fire. Das was shot at […]
On 17 May 1996, journalist and human rights activist Parag Kumar
Das was shot by unidentified gunmen in Guwahati, in the
northeastern state of Assam. Das, the editor-in-chief of the
daily “Asomiya Pratidin”, was picking his son up from school when
three men drove up in an automobile and opened fire. Das was shot
at least eight times. His seven year-old son, Rohan Das,
sustained an injury to his right hand, but is reportedly in
stable condition. The gunmen fled the scene immediately after the
shooting.
Das was also General Secretary of the Assamese human rights
organisation Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) and publisher of
its monthly newsletter, “Voice of MASS”, which documented human
rights abuses by police forces in the strife-torn state. A
proponent of self-rule for Assam, Das had recently published an
interview in “Asomiya Pratidin” with the leader of the separatist
group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). Das’s colleagues
in Assam suspect that his assassination was carried out by a
splinter group of the ULFA that allegedly has ties to the
previous administration in Assam.
State police had arrested Das twice, in March 1992 and February
1993, under the National Security Law and the Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, which is no longer in
force. The laws, which allowed prolonged detention without trial,
were apparently invoked against Das in connection with his human
rights reporting and articles about the ULFA. In December 1993,
police raided Das’s office and home, seizing copies of a book he
had written about Assam and manuscripts of articles he had
published in “Boodhbar”, the newspaper he was then editing.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
a chilling effect on journalists in Assam unless it is vigorously
investigated and those responsible are prosecuted
slaying of Das, with a full public disclosure of its findings
Appeals To
His Excellency Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister
South Block
New Delhi 110 011
India
His Excellency Murli Manohar Joshi
Minister of Home Affairs
Room 26, North Block
New Delhi 110 001
India
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
