Gauhati HC yet to return Tongam Rina shooting case records
Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Mar 4: Even as this daily awaits justice, important evidences pertaining to the assault carried out on this daily remains untraceable from the court and the Itanagar police custody, while the file regarding the shooting case is still stuck in Gauhati High court.
Last month, the Itanagar police station had refused to give any details pertaining to The Arunachal Times assault case and the Tongam Rina shooting case, even after this daily wrote to them seeking details.
The CCTV footages pertaining to The Arunachal Times assault case, which took place on 15 April, 2012 is reportedly untraceable from the court. Court officials said that there is no entry in the court record about the CCTV footages, adding that the case was registered before the bifurcation of the judiciary from the executive, and therefore, it is likely that there is no entry in the court records.
However, the police say that the CCTV footages were submitted to the court.
The five damaged computers of this office, which were not sent to the court, remain untraceable from the custody of the Itanagar police station.
According to police records, five computer sets are shown kept at the Itanagar police station’s ‘malkhana’, but have not been found and effort is on to trace them out.
Eight years after Tongam Rina of The Arunachal Times was shot outside the office, the files containing the case records reportedly are still in the Gauhati High Court. The case record was sent to the principal bench of the Gauhati High Court on 25 July, 2014, reportedly for some other case and is yet to be returned.
Tongam had survived an assassination attempt on 15 July, 2012.
The charge-sheet was filed more than one year after the shooting and she is yet to give a statement. She was called to give her statement by the court once on 19 December, 2013. As she was abroad during the time, she had written to the court and Itanagar police stating her inability to attend the hearing.
According to the lawyer for the alleged accused, he had written a letter to the court seeking the return of the court documents regarding the shooting case.
The public prosecutor appointed by the court is representing Tongam in the case.
