Guwahati, May 17: Gauhati High Court today set aside the conviction of an Ulfa militant, Arup Konwar, by a trial court for killing Assam minister Nagen Neog and eight others in Golaghat district of Assam in 1996.
Konwar alias Tutu alias Amar Singh — a self-styled sergeant major of Ulfa — was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the district and sessions court, Kamrup, on October 12, 2007.
The CBI, which had investigated the case, will now appeal in the Supreme Court against the order.
Advocates Bijon Kumar Mahajan and Arshad Choudhury argued the case for Konwar while P.N. Choudhury appeared on behalf of the CBI.
Nagen Neog was the husband of Assam PWD minister Ajanta Neog.
Allowing the appeal of Konwar, a division bench of Justices B.D. Agarwal and Prasanta Kumar Saikia quashed the petitioner’s conviction by the district court saying the prosecution hadn’t been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The CBI counsel informed the court that it would file an appeal by way of a special leave petition in the Supreme Court within one month.
The convoy of Neog, the then panchayat and rural development minister in the Hiteswar Saikia government, was ambushed by suspected Ulfa militants around 7.30pm at Singijan bridge under Golaghat police station on May 6, 1996. The incident occurred just two days after the 1996 Assembly elections. Neog had contested from the Golaghat seat as a Congress candidate. Apart from Neog, his driver and police escorts died in the ambush.
In the absence of any witness, the trial the court pronounced the judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
The other two accused named by the CBI in its chargesheet — Ananta Saikia and Pranjal Saikia — have been declared absconders.
According to the CBI, three days before the ambush, Konwar had forewarned retired schoolteacher Uma Konwar, whom he was acquainted with, to withdraw the latter’s son-in-law Rajani Phukan from the minister’s team of escorts.
On that day, the schoolteacher personally requested Neog to give his son-in-law leave by citing his daughter’s illness.Uma Konwar’s statement, recalling his discussion with Konwar, was presented in the court by the CBI.
Though the case was initially investigated by Assam police, it has later handed over to the CBI. The police initially suspected that Ulfa carried out the ambush in collusion with NSCN militants. The CBI chargesheet, however, did not name any Naga group.
The case was handed over to the CBI on March 26, 1999, in response to a PIL filed by Tukeswar Neog, the slain minister’s brother.
