Freedom fighter of Lakhimpur Dutiram Saikia denies allegation of fake age certificate

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Dutiram Saikia, a freedom fighter of Lakhimpur, has denied all allegations raised against him that he has been been drawing freedom fighter pension by producing fake age certificate. Notably, regarding the allegation, news items were meanwhile published in some newspaper of the State (not in The Sentinel).

In this regard, Dutiram Saikia, a permanent resident of Tatibahar village of Narayanpur area of the district, addressed a press conference at North Lakhimpur. In the press meet, he was supported by a total of seven co-freedom fighters – Soneswar Kakati, Indreswar Bhuyan, Sonaram Hazarika, Jogeswar Baruah, Moneswar Borah and Muhiram Baruah.

In the press meet, Dutiram Saikia said that all these freedom fighters were deprived from the freedom fighter pension due to their ignorance about it and other reasons. They applied for the pension concerned fifteen-sixteen years ago with the requisite documents like two certificates from two freedom fighter pensioners, age certificate, etc. Those applications had been pending for a long term during the regime of the Congress-led governments.

Later, a list of 218 freedom fighters was made by an advisory board, to grant them pension through due scrutiny under the chairmanship of then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. But the list remained undeclared.

“After the BJP had come to power, the deprived freedom fighters contacted the Government and staged a one-day hunger strike regarding the issue. Then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal formed another advisory board of which he was the chairperson. This advisory board selected 79 freedom fighters of the State out of those 218 persons after due scrutiny pension was granted to them. So, these freedom fighters are by no means fake freedom fighters”, stated Dutiram Saikia.

He further added that the published news against him were baseless and treated with vested interest. “They are insult for our sacrifice and dedication which we did in the freedom movement. Those news underestimated me in the society and caused severe mental affliction”, he said.

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