ULFA peace mediator says he’s getting death threats

A mediator between the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam and the Government on Tuesday complained that he was being issued death threats...

A mediator between the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam and the Government on Tuesday complained that he was being issued death threats in the name of ULFA.

Hiranya Saikia, one of the 12 members of the People’s Consultative Group (PCG), said he received a phone call on Monday night from one Bakul Deka, who introduced himself as an ULFA cadre, warning him that ULFA was out to eliminate him.

“This person said he was close to ULFA 709 battalion commander Hira Saraniya and that the latter had drawn up a plan to kill me,” Saikia said. “The call came from a mobile phone (no 9435612707) at around 10 pm, followed by an SMS at 11:45 pm.”

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Saikia claimed only two persons from the ULFA, its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa or commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, had been in touch with him. “Since I know that it is only either Rajkhowa or Barua who calls me on the mobile, I suspect the caller to be a police plant. I also suspect that the call was made from the police or Army who must have either used a surrendered ULFA militant or any other person to threaten me,” Saikia said.

“I am also sure that this is nothing but a conspiracy to derail the peace process which has been stuck for nearly two years now. Somebody is conspiring to kill me and then put the blame on the ULFA so that there is confusion and the peace process is scuttled,” he added.

PCG was constituted by ULFA in September 2005, following which it carried out three rounds of discussions until June 2006, after which the Government stopped calling the group for further talks.

Meanwhile, the ULFA chairman hit out at the Government over the arrest of Lachit Bordoloi, an official of the Manab Adhika Sangram Samiti (MASS), a human rights group, and said it was also part of a conspiracy to scuttle the peace process that had remained stuck for more than a year now.

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“The charges against Bordoloi that he was collecting funds in the name of ULFA, providing shelter to ULFA members and even harbouring and transporting arms are all baseless and concocted. Bordoloi is a reputed human rights activist who has been helping facilitate the peace process,” the ULFA chairman claimed.

He hit out at a section of police and Army officers and accused Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam Police (special branch) IG Khagen Sharma of conspiring to stop the peace talks from being revived.