Skip to content Skip to navigation

Secret killings still a secret

Now I know you now I don’t that’s the secret game going on between the former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and his estranged party members. After splits, expulsion, reunions, agreements disagreements the former AGP chief is once again surrounded in controversy as his reputation is once again tarnished by the indictment in the “secret killings” case.

Constituted in 2005 the justice (Retd) KN Saikia Commission of Inquiry on Secret Killings carried out between the year 1998 and 2001 after studying 35 cases of the nature of secret killing in four phases, in its report held Mahanta the then chief minister as well as in charge of the home department responsible for the cases. The panel also indicted independent legislator Kushal Deori in one case of mass murder which was the murder of suspected Ulfa conduit Uma Gogoi’s family.

In his report justice Saikia allegedly reported that the killings were the outcome of a nexus between the police and the surrendered Ulfa members collectively referred as Sulfa.

However, the findings of the preceding inquiry arrived upon by the JN Sarma Commission was rejected by the Congress government in August 2005 and was never aired in public.

The JN Sarma Commission had given a clean chit to Mahanta as well s to the police. However, it did point to a conspiracy and cited revenge as the motive for the killings. Most of the victims were either family members or people close to the Ulfa militants.

It was only after the High Court‘s intervention after a petition filed by Mahanta that the Sarma Commission reports and the Saikia Commision reports were presented in the Assembly.

Now the AGP has rallied around its former chief in his hour of need. The AGP leaders sprang to Mahanta’s defence as soon as the reports were tabled by the Tarun Gogoi government. Allegations and counter allegations later the arguments by both houses of the assembly hang in balance as none was ready to hear the other.

One Commission’s finding found Mahanta guilty while the other gave him a clean chit which once again leaves question wide open regarding the architect of the secret killings. Probably another commission would be set up to investigate the authenticity of the two commissions and so forth. Therefore till the tug of war continues the public needs to sit back and grope in the dark for an answer to the secret behind secret killings.

Author info

Rituparna Goswami Pande's picture

Journalist, writer

Comments

jaay's picture

That’s the state of affair in the entire country. Actually, the politics is at its lowest point so far. Whoever is in the power, he is innocent and the moment he is out, he becomes the convict, but the fact remains that the TRUTH never comes out. We never come to a conclusion in any of the high profile cases, it always hangs in balance and if we really look at all this, what happens in the end? Just because an injustice is done, people take the route which leads to extremism and then people call them terrorists. If I may pout it this way, that so called the people are the result of the injustice met to them at some time or the other, it will not be wrong. Common people suffer while these so called high profile people get Z level security covers. Under these circumstances one is compelled to think that whether the democracy is playing its role fairly or not? Another question, another day, but answers are elusive. The only option left is that IF the case is heard by any impartial judge, chances are that something may come out, (if he is not transferred) but I have not seen it happening so far. So we can only pray that someday / someone puts an end to this mess, I am emphasizing on SOMEONE because from the masses I don’t expect much, they are responsible for voting these people into power and then get repressed. Keep posting.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

TET begins across for teacher recruitment

10 Jan 2012 - 3:48pm | editor
Altogether three lakh fifty six thouand and nine hundred fourteen candidates are appearing in the teachers eligibility test in the state on Tuesday. Being jointly organized by the Board of Secndary...

Action against fake companies

4 Apr 2013 - 5:38pm | AT News
Stern action awaits fake financial institutions. Disclosing this in the Assam assembly on Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilomoni Sen Deka said that as of March 6, 2013, a total of 192...

Probe PC Ram case afresh: Court tells CBI

9 Jun 2012 - 3:54am | editor
A special court in Guwahati has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to institute a fresh probe into the PC Ram killing case. The order was issued on Friday a day after the son of the FCI...

Spotlight on Ruzaphema village

8 Oct 2015 - 9:03am | AT News Dimapur
Rüzaphema, the name of a village situated at a distance of 20 kms from Dimapur town has drawn the attention of all when a new government school came up.  Commissioner and secretary for school...

Other Contents by Author

This women’s day I salute those unsung ‘heroes’ who have withstood the onslaught of fickle fate. No they are not faces in the crowd rather they are the crowd whose faces we don’t remember. They are those who are living in the periphery of life, battling everyday issues of home and hearth.I bow my head in reverence to the grit of Mausam’s mother who put aside her grief after losing her only son to Ewing’s Sarcoma in order to stand as a pillar of strength to her broken husband who unable to bear the tempest of misfortune had almost lost touch with reality. I like many others was a helpless bystander of the tale of woe that had fallen like a bolt from the blue on this poor family.  But...
If I had wings and were a birdWould travel the world and orbit the EarthOr had I been a butterfly Eclectic colors would be mineI would hover over trees, flutter over blooms, On a spiritual high, I would go into a swoonShould I be a fish and swim the seaPass through oceans or haunt a reefWith beautiful corals for companyThe heart would leap at Nature’s bountyHad I been a fir tree insteadMy leaves would flutter in snow headsThe flirty wind would kiss my soulThe icy breeze to lift me up, life would be on a rollWhat if I were the season – SpringOrchid blooms, newness to ring inNo, no let me be the sky, the endless blueFar from earth, to keep a watch on youBut then my mind looks to the...
I, KazirangaShedding tears of bloodMy children, the four leggedIn men no longer trust.God’s blessed beings are theyRoaming the wildsIn search of prey and hayOften trapped by wily menCaught unawaresBy a poaching handLeft to dieWith bleeding woundsWith their hornsCut by forest goonsNo where to runNo where to hideTheir haven encroached by thugsTheir skies taken over by two legged bugsFeigned protectionI don’t seekI, KazirangaWill continue to bleedIf there is no messiahLet my children not desireAny solace from cruel fateBut march towards extinction and Heaven’s gate.
The fact that we need to celebrate Women’s Day portends that all is not well in a women’s world. Or else why would we need to single out a day for millions of women who have equal rights and status in the world they inhabit. We don’t have a men’s day which is evidence enough that all is hunky dory with their race.The UN theme for International Women's Day 2013 is "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women," while International Women's Day 2013 has declared the year's theme as The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum. But then is it really gaining momentum?As we celebrate Women’s Day today a woman is probably being raped in our rape capital i.e. Delhi or any other...
Lately every morning we have been waking up to screaming headlines of animal killings in the newspapers. Rhinos being poached with their horns brutally severed and left to die,elephants electrocuted or hunted down, their bodies mutilated and left to bleed to death. Gory pictures of animal atrocities splashed in every newspaper, every channel. It really makes one ponder as to how low humans can stoop to gratify their covetous desire for money. Twisted minds are targetting the animal kingdom, mute creatures, innocent beings who do not care nor bother to know how our world has become a slave to money. The world Heritage site Kaziranga National park has seen 20 rhino killings this year and a...
All Hindus become epitomes of excitement to the run up to the festival of the auspicious Durga puja. Pandals coming up everywhere, idols being given finishing touches, revellers thronging the markets, discount offers, designer wear on sale and so on. Everyone is under the grip of puja fever and the associated excitement.But for once if we shift our focus away from ourselves and our frivolous acts and ponder over the plights of those innocent animals that would be sacrificed during the puja offerings, I am sure the smiles in our faces would be wiped off. At least the smiles would vanish from those faces who have a little compassion for the four legged. Imagine the little pigeons, a symbol...
From bedraggled beggars on the streets to the suit clad brokers on Wall Street – the ubiquitous cell phone is everywhere, in every pocket irrespective of the rich / poor status of its owners. It is no longer an item of luxury albeit it’s a must have today, a necessary evil. For technology comes with a price and the technology behind mobile phones is sure to make mankind pay a heavy price – the price of health and safety. The recent furore created in the media worldwide over the possible hazareds of mobile phone radiation has made us sit up and take note of the pros and cons of using the innocent looking mobile handset which had till date so surely and surreptitiously...
Man is an animal first and a social animal later. However, our ‘social’ status has failed to erase our animal instincts, which lies dormant in our basic dispositions. The urge to spread violence, the need to kill, and the thirst to quench our carnal desires are proof that there is still some animal in us. These urges raise their ugly heads in the form of homicides, rape and molestation incidents, and mob violence etc putting mankind to shame. The dangerous of all is our affinity towards the mob mentality that threatens to ensnare us at the slightest pretext and at the slightest of provocation. The term “mob mentality” is used to refer to unique behavioral...
The mellifluous tinkle of the Sarod permeated the atmosphere under a canopy of twinkling stars and a soft breeze that emanated from the somber Nilachal hill. Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan performed at the open amphitheatre in the Kamakhya temple premises striking a divine chord in all our hearts. The setting couldn’t have been more striking. The silhouette of the sanctuary at the backdrop and the stupendous performances of maestros were the perfect mode of the two day Kameshwari Music and Dance festival 2010. Dance and music have been an inherent part of temples in India since times immemorial. In order to appease the gods these art forms have always been...
“The Assam State Zoo encompassing over 130 hectares of land boasts of an astonishing collection of some rare and extinct species of wild animals settled comfortably in their natural habitat.” This is how a website describes the zoo in our city. However, the ‘stay’ of the animals there is far from ‘comfortable’. The captive animals in small enclosures with hardly room for free movement is a far cry from comfortable. The Assam state Zoo boasts of white tigers, one horned rhinos, Swamp tapirs and leopards to name a few. The zoo is also prosperous in the avian branch and plays host to rare species of birds. Sadly, the animals are caged for better viewing of...