The country’s oldest paramilitary force has locked up an ailing soldier in a 7 ft x 6 ft  dungeon  for the last eight months.

Rifleman Haider Ali of the Assam Rifles (AR) has allegedly been held captive in a dingy room – with no bed and light – at the paramilitary force’s camp in Imphal. He has been here ever since he was detained last January for leading a signature campaign to seek better pay and facilities for himself and his colleagues.
His wife Sahar Bano has of late moved the Shillong Bench of the Guwahati High Court with a writ petition. She alleged that her husband was being detained illegally and sought the High Court’s intervention to end his ordeal.
The High Court has issued notices to the AR authorities. The AR — raised as Cacher Levy in 1835 — is a Central paramilitary force, which is funded and administered by the union ministry of home affairs, but operates under the army. It guards the India-Myanmar border and combats militancy in the north-eastern states.

The paramilitary force was shaken by a mutiny last year, when Mr Ali led a signature campaign to demand better pay and parity with the army personnel. Nearly 1900 soldiers had signed a petition to the president.

Ali was put under detention on January 16 under the Army Act for ‘improperly’ carrying out the campaign. The campaign, however, brought to the fore the growing discontent within the AR. The ministry on March 14 last constituted a committee to study the soldiers’ grievances.

“Ali wrote to the commandant of the AR on August 10 last that he was being held captive in a 7 ft x 6 ft room with no bed or light. He had to sleep on the floor. The room turns into a dungeon after 6-00 pm,” said the detained soldier’s lawyer, Raghavendra Jha. The 40-year-old soldier is now suffering from backache, gastritis and constipation. Mr Jha said that the AR had not yet initiated court martial proceedings against Ali. The AR had convened a general court martial on August 11 last. But Jha who appeared for Ali, pointed out that the commandant of the paramilitary force had not heard the charges against his client before the court martial was convened.

“The court martial proceedings were stalled as the presiding officer accepted my plea,” Jha said. “Under Rule 51 of the Army Act, in such a situation, the AR should have either convened another court martial or released my client forthwith,” added the lawyer.

When contacted, the AR spokesman in Imphal Col L M Pant refused to make any comment immediately.
Ali has since long been a troublemaker for the AR. He was dismissed in 1997, after he sported a long beard and declined to shave, citing religious reasons. The dismissal order was quashed by the Delhi High Court.
After an appeal by the AR was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2003, he was reinstated in 2004.