Assam: Kin of abducted man offers prayers at Ulfa(I) leader Paresh Baruah’s portrait
GUWAHATI, June 20, 2018: The Family of Dinanath Upadhyaya and residents Udaipur village in Tinsukia district have reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure release of the tea garden employee who was allegedly abducted by Ulfa (I) on June 8.
The victim's family have put up a photograph of Ulfa (I) leader Paresh Barua and are praying to him for Upadhyaya's release.
The development comes within days of Ulfa (I) releasing a video of Upadhyaya in which he is seen admitting that he was passing information on the movements of Ulfa (I) and NSCN (K) on the behest of his employer Radha Chetia and Margherita MLA Bhaskar Sarmah.
"We have written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to intervene and ensure Upadhyaya's safety," a villager said.
"In the letter we have made it clear that we have received no help from the state government and administration. If anything happens to Upadhyaya, Sarmah and Chetia will be responsible," he said.
Talking to the media, Margherita subdivisional officer Sumit Sattawan said, "We have received a letter addressed to the PMO and forwarded it to the deputy commissioner's office."
"The letter, signed by the victim's family members and over two dozen villagers of Udaipur, expresses fear for Upadhyaya's life after the video surfaced," Sattawan said.
Upadhyaya, 52, supervisor of a private tea garden owned by Chetia, at Jagun in Phaneng, about 80km from Tinsukia, was abducted by a group of five men on bikes on June 8. According to sources, two days after Barua called Chetia informing him that Upadhyaya is in his custody in a camp in Myanmar, senior Ulfa (I) leader Michael Deka Phukon called Chetia demanding Rs 3.5 crore for Upadhyaya's release.
"On Tuesday, during the blockade, the protesters claimed it is the employer's responsibility to provide security to his employee. They demanded the deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, Margherita MLA and garden owner Chetia to come and meet them but neither of them came after which they withdrew the blockade after eight hours," another source said.
All attempts to speak to MLA Bhaskar Sarmah turned futile.
Source: The Telegraph
Featured image: The Telegraph
