GUWAHATI, May 7 — The tea giant multi-national Williamson and Magor which owns about 30 big tea estates in Assam, recently paid Rs 10 lakh to the proscribed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to buy peace. This was admitted by NDFB ultras Sunil Brahma and his associate Indra Mohan Basumatary before a large group of newsmen here this afternoon.
The NDFB ultras who were apprehended by Kolkata police recently, were brought to the State today by sleuths of Special Operation Unit (SOU) of Assam police. The duo were produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate here immediately after their arrival in the city. The court remanded the militants to 14 days police custody.
In response to the queries from the waiting newsmen at the court premises the militants admitted that they had gone to Kolkata to collect Rs 10 lakh paid by the tea giant Williamson and Magor. The money was later recovered by Kolkata police following the arrest of the militants.
However, they expressed their ignorance about any other tea companies paying their outfit. The admission made by these militants on payment made by Williamson and Magor has once again raked up the nexus between tea companies and insurgent outfits in Assam. The Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday told a section of media here that law would be allowed to take its own course if any tea company was found to fund banned extremist outfits operating in the State.
It may be mentioned that earlier during 1997-98 the State Government filed a case against tea giant Tata Tea Limited, which have major interest in the State’s tea sector, after the State police stumbled upon evidence of the tea company funding the banned ULFA outfit. Several Tata tea officials including the then Executive Director, S Krishna Kumar were grilled by Assam police during the investigation of the case. Although the case against Tata tea is still pending in the Court, the State Government for reasons best known to it started soft paddling on it.