AHRC takes suo moto cognisance of alleged assault of women by

The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of newsapper reports of the alleged stripping, assault and torture of three sisters inside a police outpost in Darrang by its in-charge and issued notice to the district magistrate on Thursday to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

An AHRC single bench of N K Bora issued the notice and directed that the report, along with all documents and medical report should be submitted to it within one month of receipt of the notice, according to a Commission release.

The newspapers, reporting on the brutality on the three women said they were allegedly picked up by Darrang police from Guwahati, taken to Burha police outpost in the district where they were stripped and tortured by the inspector-in-charge Mahendra Sarma and a lady constable Binita Boro, it said.

Both Sarma and Boro have been placed under suspension.

The president in-charge of All Assam Garia Yuva Chatra Parishad, Makbul Hussain has also filed a complaint on the same incident, the release said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Women( NCW) too had taken suo moto cognisance of the media reports and had directed the state chief secretary and director general of police to conduct an inquiry and submit their reports within four weeks.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered an inquiry into the incident by Central Western Range DIG Brojenjit Singh.

The women were picked up from their home in Guwahati in connection with a kidnapping case filed against their brother and brought to Burha police outpost of the district on September 9, Darrang Superintendent of Police Amrit Bhuyan said.

The three women were later released after the brother and the woman he had allegedly kidnapped surrendered at the police outpost.

The women, however, later alleged in a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, that they were stripped, assaulted and tortured by Sarma and received severe injuries.

They also claimed before the media that the eldest of the sister, who was two months pregnant, had miscarried following the assault.

The women were initally taken to the Helengpara primary health centre from where they were referred to Guwahati Medical College Hospital for examination.

The police said that the medical report is awaited.