Jorhat, Feb. 19: A surrendered militant was among 15 people rounded up by the CBI from the river island of Majuli to testify in the Sanjoy Ghose case. Police sources here said the former militant had surrendered soon after Ghose’s abduction made newspaper headlines.
The Ulfa had abducted Ghose, a social worker involved in an anti-erosion project in Majuli, in 1997. It is presumed that he was killed the same day and his body thrown into the Brahmaputra.
The case is being heard in the court of the additional ad hoc sessions judge, Kamrup.
The CBI had previously brought five witnesses, including a boatman, to Guwahati. The boatman is believed to have ferried Ghose and his captors to a desolate spot in Majuli on the day of his abduction. The CBI chargesheet names Ulfa “commander-in-chief” Paresh Barua as one of the accused. Five of the 11 people charged with abducting and killing Ghose are dead.
Ghose’s wife Sumita was the first to testify in court. She recalled a telephonic conversation with a man claiming to be Paresh Barua a few days after her husband had been taken hostage.
She quoted him as saying that Ghose would be freed if three conditions were met: withdrawal of the Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (Avard-NE) from Assam, an apology to the people of the state and suspension of operations by the security forces.
Sumita and other members of the family alternated between hope and despair for months after he went missing. After much drama, the Ulfa announced that Ghose had died after falling into a gorge somewhere in Arunachal Pradesh while being shifted from one camp to another. His body was not found.