Magor officials grilled by police

JORHAT, July 20: The four Williamson Magor Group officials, who were remanded to judicial custody yesterday for links with the banned ULFA, were today interrogated by the police from 6 am to 4 pm. The quartet, including Mohbandha Tea Estate Manager Aswini Sarma and Gajen Gogoi and the two employees namely mechanic Haren Saikia and driver Gajen Bhuyan had allegedly provided help to an ULFA man, one Ratul Dutta who died of malaria last week. Ratul had arrived at the tea estate on July 13 after having contacted the disease at a camp of the outfit inside Nagaland The sub-divisional magistrate here had ordered their remand yesterday. A case No 54/2000 under non-bailable Section 120 B (waging war against the state), 121 (criminal conspiracy) under the IPC and 10/13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, had been registered against them at the Pulibor Police Station here. A top-ranking member of ABITA, of which Mohbandha TE is a member garden, today said "the police has not filed a case against the company but only against the arrested four as whatever they have done were in their personal capacity." Similarly, a leading tea planter of the district remarked that "though the incident will definitely cast a slur on the industry, the ground realities are such that it is not always possible to sit in judgement." Earlier, yesterday industry sources had claimed that Ratul was treated at the particular tea garden hospital, but 'unknowingly'. However, all along the estate manager Aswini Sarma is alleged to have acted as guardian for Ratul, both at the tea garden and subsequently at the Mission Hospital here. Back in 1997 too, the tea industry was rocked by allegations of its nexus with militant groups when a senior manager of Tata Tea, Brojen Gogoi was arrested for providing medical assistance to a lady ULFA cadre, one Pranati Deka.