Anupama Das, mother of Parag Kumar Das, pays tribute to her son on Tuesday. Picture by UB Photos

May 17: The city today paid homage to writer, journalist and founder of the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS), Parag Kumar Das, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on this day in 1996.

Family members, fans and followers of Das, writers, journalists and intellectuals assembled near the Swahid Bedi (memorial stone) erected at the place where Das was shot dead in broad daylight when he had gone to fetch his son from school.

They prayed for the peace of his soul, demanded punishment for those involved in his assassination and recalled his contribution to society.

Das was killed a day after the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta ministry was sworn in for the second term.

His 15th death anniversary comes a day ahead of another swearing in, that of the Tarun Gogoi ministry.

Former Gauhati University vice-chancellor Deba Prasad Baruah said regionalism in Assam was on the wane, as there is no forceful voice like Das had.

“There are a few organisations like the Samiti who are trying to keep alive the regional forces, but it is not enough,” said Baruah.

He added that though the AGP, once the state’s largest regional party, faced catastrophe in the Assembly election 2011, regionalism will not die.

Former chairman of the Samiti, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, felt that there was a need to keep alive the ideologies of Das for the state’s better future.

“We need to keep alive Das’s ideologies for the future generation,” Bhuyan said.

Pradip Gogoi, one of the leaders of Ulfa’s pro-talks faction, said the judiciary and executive have a responsibility to detect and punish the murderers of Das.

The prominent members of society present in the meeting were Bijan Mahajan, Lachit Bordoloi, Nekibur Jaman, Adip Phukan and Das’s mother Anupama.

On July 28 in 2009, Kamrup district and sessions judge Dilip Kumar Mahanta acquitted Mridul Phukan, the lone surviving accused in the murder of Parag Das, for want of evidence. The court pulled up the CBI for inefficient investigation into the murder.

Not satisfied with the sessions court verdict, the family members of Das moved Gauhati High Court challenging the verdict acquitting Mridul Phukan in the murder case.

On October 26, the high court admitted the criminal revision petition challenging the verdict of the district and sessions court, Kamrup.