Gauhati HC asks Defence Ministry to pay compensation

JORHAT, April 9: The Gauhati High Court has asked the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, to pay compensation of Rs 1 lakh to petitioner Surajit Gogoi alias Pu Gogoi following robbery by a group of 15 members from the Indian Army based at 3 corps 999 APO, Rangapara Military Station, Dimapur on December 21, 2011. The army personnel were led by Captain Rubi Kaur Kir of 3 CISU Dimapur, daughter of Jatinder Paul Singh Kir, resident of A-170 Kamlagar, Agra. She misled 14 others who came in three Zipsy vehicles from the Rangapara Military Station, Dimapur and in the absence of Surajit Gogoi, entered his house at Rowriah Tili in Jorhat district and first tied two of his sons, his wife and daughter and confined them in two separate locations and looted cash, jewellery and electronic items.  After fighting from pillar to post for six years, the petitioner at last got justice from the Gauhati High Court.

According to advocate Sudipta rayan Goswami, the robbery in the house of a Jorhat businessman on December 21, 2011 turned out to be an army operation gone wrong, with  Sandeep Thapa, a havildar posted at 3 Corps headquarters at Rangapahar in Dimapur, revealing during interrogation that a 15-member army team, including a lady officer, was involved in the raid. Out of 15, four were dismissed from services, including Captain Rubi who was the ring leader of the operation.

“Sandeep Thapa med three army personnel, including the lady officer whose surme is Kaur Keer, and two personnel hailing from Assam with the surmes of th and Neog, as part of the group,” a police official privy to the probe said on Monday. The team had broken into the businessman’s home, tied up his wife and children and decamped with valuables and cash. A police team, which had gone to the 3 Corps headquarters at Rangapahar, returned late on Sunday night with a part of the booty. The 3 Corps authorities handed over a laptop, two mobile phones, a digital camera, seven CDs, a few Assamese magazines, a passport and a driving licence and business-related files belonging to the contractor Pu Gogoi to the police. Gold orments, Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and a .32 licensed pistol and ammunition, which were reportedly taken away by the ‘robbers’, are yet to be recovered.