GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dismissed the charge about the state police sending a youth to spy on the Paresh Baruah faction of the insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in Myanmar.
The ULFA released a video on Sunday, claiming that one of its members was sent by the Assam police for spying.
In the “confessional” video, the individual, who identified himself as Manash Borgohain alias Mukut Axom from the state’s Golaghat district, claimed he is a sub-inspector (SI) attached to the special branch of the police.
He was seen in ULFA’s captivity, surrounded by some of its members. Sarma said the individual is not a policeman.
“To be able to become an SI, you need to sit for a test and clear it. Nobody can become an SI stealthily. So, I feel there is no truth in the matter,” he said.
“I say it as the CM that he is not an Assam police officer. I feel Paresh Baruah has had some misunderstanding,” Sarma said, adding that he would request the ULFA chief not to punish the individual.
The police said the statement by the youth in the video was “entirely false” and “misleading”.
“The Assam police neither enlisted any person by the name of Manash Borgohain in the special branch in 2021 (as claimed by the individual) nor did it send any such person to ULFA’s camp,” the Chief Public Relations Officer of Assam Police said in a statement.
The youth claimed in the video that after his recruitment in the police, he had undergone training along with some others. He claimed he was tasked to keep tabs on ULFA and disrupt its activities. He said he had joined the insurgent group last year to achieve this mission.
Meanwhile, his parents appealed to ULFA not to harm him and release him. They said three months ago they had learnt about their son joining the insurgent group. They also said that he had set out for Guwahati five-six years ago to study engineering.
The ULFA operates out of the soil of Myanmar where it has its camps.