At a time when the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) asserted that a few youths in the state were injured in a fictitious police encounter last night, the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma countered that saying the matter would need to be resolved by appointing a judicial commission, to which the leader of the banned militant group, Paresh Baruah, would need to appear in person to testify.
When it comes to giving his testimony, will ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah show up, the chief minister asked.
“If Paresh Baruah claimed that yesterday's incident was a fake police encounter, I will have to convene a judicial commission, and he will have to appear in person to testify. Will he come or will he not? That is the main issue. As a result, I believe that inquiring and answering on this subject will not address the issue. All of these difficulties will be rectified once ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah enters the mainstream,” said CM Sarma at a program at Jagiroad in Morigaon district.
When asked about allegations of an uncomfortable atmosphere in Upper Assam, the chief minister responded by claiming that there are no problems of that nature; instead, businesses in Tinsukia are operating around the clock, and residents are keeping their stores open late.
“When I recently went to Tinsukia, businesspeople there pleaded with me to let them keep their stores open until midnight. Therefore, Upper Assam does not have any such uncomfortable environment. One cannot appraise the environment from Guwahati; they must travel to Tinsukia to learn more,” added the chief minister.
Earlier today, ULFA-I in a statement claimed that the youths who have been shot at by the police during an encounter are in no way connected or involved with the militant organization.
The outlawed side, on the other hand, claimed that the youths were suspended government employees from the Transportation Department.
“We learnt that the youths were suspended employees of Assam Transport Department who had recently been fired. As a result, they drank excessively at a picnic in Arunachal's Dambuk area and vented their frustrations to family members. Later, family members reported the incident to police. However, rather than assisting them, the police shot at them during a confrontation,” the press statement reads.
Alike earlier, ULFA-I again blamed the Assam Director General of Police GP Singh for the cause.
