Nilamani Sen Deka
Guwahati, Jan. 13: Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO, today alleged that agriculture minister Nilamani Sen Deka had a role in the disappearance of a young woman from his constituency in lower Assam's Nalbari district 10 years back.
Addressing a news conference here this morning, APW president Abhijit Sarma said Namita Barman, a woman from Deka's constituency Dharmapur, went missing after she had gone to meet Deka on September 1, 2004, to request a government job. She was then 25.
He said a case was registered at Belsor police station based on a complaint lodged by the woman's parents. 'Deka has recently said he knows where the woman is. We give him 10 days' time to make the whereabouts of the woman public or else we will move court, the governor and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on this issue,' said Sarma. Deka, however, denied the allegations and said according to his information, Namita had eloped with a man from a minority community to marry him.
'The police had investigated the case and filed a final report in the court saying the girl had eloped and married a man and since then they have been living together. Whatever APW is saying against me is false. I don't even know the girl,' he said.
Sarma also distributed copies of a letter purportedly written by Namita's parents, Prasanna and Anima to the media on December 10, 2014, where they claimed that their daughter is untraced since she went out with Ajufa Begum and Shahnoor Ali, both residents of Bauxiapara village in Nalbari district, to meet Deka who was then a minister of state for finance.
'We request everyone, including the state government, to help us know the fate and whereabouts of our daughter,' her parents said in the letter.
The NGO sniffed foul play and demanded a thorough probe by police into the case, including the minister's alleged role in the incident. APW has been carrying out a campaign against Deka, describing him as one of the most corrupt ministers in the Tarun Gogoi ministry.
The NGO had also filed a couple of cases against Deka. Sarma had also charged Deka and his associates with issuing threats to APW members. Sarma said they are going to file a case in the court of special judge, Assam, on alleged rampant corruption in the state agriculture department and they will not bow to Deka's pressure.