Assam doctor's killing: probe panel asked to submit report

Assam government has asked the Shyam Jagganathan committee probing the killing of an elderly doctor by a mob to submit its report within a month, an official release said on Saturday.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had on Wednesday ordered Jagannathan, commissioner and secretary, finance, to inquire into the killing of 73-year-old Dr Deven Dutta at a tea garden in Jorhat.

The one-man committee has been asked to fix the responsibility for the lapses on the part of any authority and suggest measures to be adopted to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future, the release said.

Assam government has also decided to set up a fast track court to try the cases involving Dutta's killing.

Dutta had succumbed to his injuries after being assaulted by a mob at Teok Tea Estate following the death of a garden worker on August 31.

Doctors in Assam had observed a 24-hour strike on Tuesday to protest against the killing of Dutta, who was serving the tea estate hospital without remuneration after his retirement.