Guwahati: Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh has directed the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) to register a criminal case and take lawful action into the death threat received by Assam cabinet minister Atul Bora.
Taking to microblogging site X, DGP Singh wrote, “Reference threat to Hon Minister Sri Atul Bora on a Facebook post, Assam CID has been directed to register a criminal case and take lawful action. No such threat would be acceptable against elected representatives as it threatens the democratic polity.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Atul Bora, the state agriculture, animal husbandry and veterinary, implementation of Assam Accord and border protection and development minister, received a death threat in the comment section of the Facebook page of a regional news web portal. Bora is also the President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government in Assam.
A person named Pranash Shandilya wrote in Assamese, “Atul Bora quatert bomb plant r plan kora hoise. Ami ulfa r pora sob kori asu. Besi din jiyai nethake ee (Planting a bomb has been planned at the quarter of Atul Bora. We from the ULFA have been doing all these. He will not remain alive for a long time).”
The accused in his post, however, mentioned the name of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), and not the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I). While the pro-talks faction of ULFA is in peace talks with the Central and the Assam government, the ULFA-I, led by its military chief Paresh Baruah, is still active.
Paresh Baruah, also known as Paresh Asom and Kamruj Zaman Khan, is the commander-in-chief of the ULFA (I). The banned armed separatist organisation is seeking independence for Assam from the Indian Union.
As per an intelligence report, Baruah lives in Yunnan province of China. The outfit is widely reported to be involved in alleged extortion of money from businessmen, bureaucrats and politicians for collecting funds for the organisation.