MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Sanjay Ghosh's killer shot dead in encounter

Hardcore ULFA militant Babu Saikia, prime accused in the murder of AVARD-NE general secretary Sanjoy Ghosh, has been killed in an encounter in Upper Assam's Jorhat district, the police said on Monday.

Babu carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head.

The encounter took place when the police, acting on a tip-off on Sunday, raided Chinatoli village in Majuli, the world's largest river island, where Babu alias Tridip Dutta along with another extremist was staying with a family.

Babu, along with three others, who were all on bicycles, The opened fire on the police search team when it asked them to stop.

The police retaliated killing Saikia on the spot, while his accomplices escaped.

Earlier, two of the seven accused in the Sanjoy Ghosh case -- Siraj Bora and Arup Bora -- were killed in encounters with the police.

Ghosh was kidnapped on July 8, 1997, from Majuli by the United Liberation Front of Asom, which later said the social activist died when he fell off a hill in Arunachal Pradesh.

Ghosh's body has not been recovered till today and the Assam government has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the case.

Tell us what you think of this report