Guwahati: The Opposition MLA, Wazed Ali Choudhury, today criticised the alleged police encounter in which Ghanakanta Gogoi, the prime accused in the Hotel Bilas Inn firing, was killed, maintaining that he should have faced trial and been punished through the legal process.
Reacting to today’s Ghanakanta’s Encounter , Choudhury said the Congress could never support encounter killings, regardless of the seriousness of the crime. He condemned Gogoi’s alleged actions, which resulted in the deaths of five people inuring one and said the accused deserved the strictest possible punishment.
However, the Opposition leader stressed that the death penalty should have been awarded by a court following a proper trial rather than through a police encounter.
“We can never support an encounter. The act committed by Ghanakanta Gogoi, the incident in which he shot and killed five people and injuring one, was completely condemnable. He should have been hanged, but this should have happened through legal procedures,” Choudhury said.
He also argued that Gogoi’s death in the encounter had deprived him of the opportunity to express remorse for his actions and face justice through the judicial system.
Gogoi, the prime accused in the 26th October shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati’s Bora Service area, was killed in police firing in Sivasagar district around 3: 10am on 4th November . Police claimed that he had attempted to escape while being transported in connection with another case.
Meanwhile, the families of the shooting victims expressed gratitude to the Assam Government and the state police following Gogoi’s death. They said they hoped the departed souls would finally find peace.