Indrajit Gupta condoles Sanjoy Ghose's death

Home Minister Indrajit Gupta described the actions of the United Liberation Front of Asom as a ''naked attack on democracy, civil society and people's rights to organise themselves for their own betterment.''

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on the kidnapping of social worker Sanjoy Ghose by the ULFA, the minister said the government condemned the dastardly act and asked the state to follow up the investigations in the case diligently.

''Since Ghose's dead body has not not been recovered so far, we cannot declare him dead in the strict legal sense," he added.

He regretted that Ghose -- kidnapped on July 4 along with Chandan Doley -- had still not been found and added that the ULFA was seeking to create confusion about his life and death.

Giving the facts of the case, the minister said Ghose, the general secretary, AVARD-NE, and another member, Doley, went to Makhigaon in Majuli, a riverine island of the Brahmaputra in Jorhat. Both of them were kidnapped by armed miscreants on the very same day. Doley, though, managed to escape.

While efforts were on to trace Ghose, ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua issued a statement on July 9, claiming that the outlaws had arrested Ghose for being a RAW operative. Further, he claimed they would punish him accordingly.

On the night of July 22, the ULFA issued a statement claiming Ghose drowned in the Brahmaputra on July 8 when his canoe capsized due to strong river currents. However, another press release, purported to have been issued by ULFA's publicity secretary on July 23, said Ghose was alive and very much in their captivity.

Another statement issued by Barua said Ghose would be released provided AVARD-NE wound up all its activities in Majuli, and in the state of Assam, for good. He also wanted the security forces to suspend all operations, threatening that the ULFA would not be responsible if Ghose died in an encounter.

AVARD-NE immediately wound up their activities and left Assam. At the specific request of Ghose's family, the government agreed that the security forces and the police would not take any action in connection with Ghose's release.