NEW DELHI, March 31 — On a day when Assam Government’s amnesty offer to fleeing militants from Bhutan expired, North East Coordination Committee on Human Rights (NECOHR), an apex body of human rights organisations, called on the Royal Government of Bhutan to publish the names of all those killed, detained and handed over to the Government of India. The bone of contention is the whereabouts of at least 19 cadres of outlawed ULFA and NDFB, who are traceless. The cadres reported to have been captured during the ongoing operation in the Himalayan Kingdom were not to be heard again, provoking deep apprehension about their fate.
The search for the missing cadres has brought a delegation of NECOHR accompanied by family members of few traceless cadres to Delhi. Their attempt to meet the Bhutanese Government officials proved futile, as they refused to receive them. The delegation staged a brief demonstration in front of the Bhutanese Embassy here before being shifted by Delhi Police to Jantar Mantar area. General secretary of the Organisation, Lachit Bordoloi later told newsmen that they were have sought appointment to meet officials in Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs. He further said that they are contemplating to move the International Red Cross again to trace the 19 missing cadres.
The Amnesty International, he added was already on the job. Mystery shrouds the whereabouts of the 19 cadres, as NECOHR office bearers and family members cite eyewitness account of their capture and subsequent detention. But nothing has been heard of them since. All attempts including three Habeas Corpus in Gauhati High Court did not help matters, as Government of India as well as Indian Army pleaded ignorance. Take the case of Major Robin Neog. His father Dimbeswar Neog who hails from Sivasagar said that his son was captured with his wife and one-year-old son in Bhutan and kept together for a few days by the Royal Army. Later they got separated and while the Army handed over his daughter-in-law with the child to Assam Police nothing is known about his son. His daughter-in-law, Podumi Tokbibi and his grandson are in Nagaon jail. Significantly, most of those missing were married and living with their family in Bhutan.
Among those who are traceless included B Irakdao publicity secretary of NDFB, Bening Rava, Abani Sarma, Asanta Bakphukon, and Utpol Saikia. An agitated NECOHR office bearers said that attitude of the Royal Government was unbecoming of a civilised nation as all international rules that guarantees human rights in conflict situation have been violated. Expressing the hope that the Royal Government would respond, Sri Bordoloi said that if the local people of Assam consider them as enemies then it would create lot of problems for the Royal Government. In a memorandum addressed to the King of Bhutan, NECOHR appealed upon Royal Government to disclose the whereabouts of the missing persons and hand over them to an impartial international body.