Ulfa, DGP spar over Pengeree attack as protests continue

Unfazed by outcry, Paresh Baruah warns Hindi-speakers of 'serious consequences'; DGP says assailants identified

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, July 16: Facing the heat for targeting Hindi-speaking people again, the banned Ulfa(I) today sought to wash its hands off the killing of two persons in Pengeree, saying "no such report has reached its headquarters".

But the Assam Police rubbished the claim, saying it has already identified the three cadres of the outfit who carried out the attack on Tuesday evening, killing a tea trader and his daughter.

In a telephonic communication to media houses here, Ulfa's military chief Paresh Baruah also warned protestors who raised slogans against the outfit at Pengeree and demanded an apology. "If they do not apologize, they will have to face serious consequences," an apparently agitated Baruah said from an unknown location.

When asked if the outfit was behind the Pengeree attack, Baruah said, "I cannot say this now as we have not received any such report in our headquarters. It is not right to put the blame on us just on the basis of suspicion."

Baruah also dared the security establishment, saying it cannot "hit the outfit's bases now as it had done in Bhutan with help from the government there."

He also accused the State DGP of instigating protestors in Tinsukia against the outfit.

DGP Khagen Sarma, meanwhile, said that three Ulfa cadres identified as Kalia, Udoy and Jun had carried out the attack on the tea trader's family and a manhunt is on to b them.

"Ulfa is a terrorist organization. Their work is to terrorize people. Why will they admit executing such a dastardly killing?" Sarma said, adding that BJP leaders and some other politicians are also on the outfit's hit-list.

On the other hand, a delegation of All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad (AABP) met Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary, Union Home ministry, and submitted a memorandum regarding the brutal killing of ndlal Shah and his daughter at Bijaliban in Pengeree.

In a press release, president of the Parishad, Parshuram Dubey said that even after several pleas, the State and Central governments have failed to provide security to the Bhojpuri people in Assam.

Meanwhile, a bandh called by the Tinsukia district committee of Assam Bhojpuri Yuba Chatra Parishad , affected normal life in the district.

Various Bhojpuri organisations staged demonstrations in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office, demanding security for the Hindi-speaking community in the State. They also demanded punishment to the culprits involved in the attack.