Ripun Bora

Guwahati, Feb. 10: The Kamrup district and sessions court today discharged Ripun Bora and Pulin Phukan in the Daniel Topno murder case.

The court found that there was not sufficient evidence to frame charges against the two.

On September 27, 2000, goons murdered Daniel Topno, who contested the 1996 Assembly elections against Bora from Gohpur constituency. Topno, an influential leader of the tea community, was contesting on an All India Tiwari Congress ticket after being denied a Congress ticket.

Ripun Bora told The Telegraph tonight that he was very happy with the outcome. “The blot on my political career has been removed with today’s ruling. I had complete faith in the judiciary and my innocence. There were two cases against me — the CBI bribery case, which was dismissed last year by both Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. And today, I was discharged in the murder case,” he said.

Congress insiders said a “legally free” Bora could once again be a man to watch out for in state politics. Bora, close to Gogoi, was dropped as cabinet minister after the CBI booked him in 2008 for allegedly trying to bribe its officials to influence the Topno case.

The CBI arrested Bora, then a rising politician in the Gogoi cabinet, in Delhi. After which he had to make way for his wife Monika in the 2011 Assembly elections. She won convincingly.

Though he is looking after the flagship programmes on behalf of the Assam PCC, his has been a subdued presence.

Bora, party sources said, could become a strong contender for the Tezpur Lok Sabha seat, which he is vying for with AICC secretary and MLA Bhupen Kumar Borah and former MP Mani Kumar Subba. Amiya Bhuyan, former AASU leader, is also in the fray.

Asked how much will the verdict help him in his bid for the Tezpur ticket, Bora said, “It is in the hands of the high command. I will continue to serve the party.”