Missing peace negotiator: SC seeks response from Centre, Assam, Meghalaya
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre as well as Assam and Meghalaya governments on a plea of son of a missing mediator who was working to bring truce between the Government of India and separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) since 1991.
Mediator Rebati Phukan's son has claimed that his father had gone missing on April 22 and had quoted LFA chief Paresh Baruah as saying that he may be in the custody of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) or the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) or Military Intelligence or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as they "have a rivalry amongst them".
A vacation Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and M M Shantanagoudar issued notice to various parties including Centre, Assam and Meghalaya after senior advocate Geeta Luthra appearing for Phukan claimed that a doctor has reportedly treated him in Meghalaya few days back.
Luthra said although the Assam chief minister have assured all possible help in finding Phukan but they do not know whether he was in captivity, as various Central agencies are involved in it.
She said it is a habeas corpus (a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a court) petition filed by the son seeking direction to find his missing father.
The
Bench
asked
Luthra,
"Why
can't
you
(Kaushik
Phukan)
approach
the
high
court
for
relief.
Why
have
you
come
to
Delhi
from
North
East.
They
can
also
do
what
we
can
do".
Luthra
said
two
states
and
various
central
agencies
are
involved
in
the
matter.
The Bench said that since two states (Assam and Meghalaya) are involved in the matter, it is issuing notice to all the parties listed as respondents.
Rebati Phukan was working as a peace negotiator between the Centre and ULFA since 1991 to facilitate a peace dialogue.
The plea filed by his son sought direction to the authorities, including Assam government, to produce Phukan before the court.
He had also urged the court that the case be transferred to CBI or any other independent agency or a special investigating team as there was "a loss of faith in the local police" due to its alleged lethargic conduct.
Kaushik has said in his plea that despite the registration of an FIR, no proactive steps have been taken till date by the police to trace his father, who was appointed as a member of the erstwhile People's Consultative Group (PCG) formed by the ULFA in 2005 to mediate between the outfit and the Centre.
"The petitioner's father has also been working directly with the Prime Minister's Office since 1991 for various peace missions between the Centre and ULFA to bring peace in Assam," the plea said, adding that Rebati Phukan had also "worked in association and cooperated" with the IB till 2016 on various missions in India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and China.
The plea said that after he went missing, Kaushik got to know from a high-ranking official of the IB that his father was closely associated with the intelligence body.
It claimed they have come to know that on April 20, Rebati Phukan had attended a "secret meeting" with a retired bureaucrat and an advocate practising in the Assam High Court, during which a "proposal memorandum to negotiate with Paresh Baruah, ULFA chief, was being discussed and the same was to be presented before Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi soon".
The petitioner has said that his father went for morning walk on April 22 but did not return to his rented house, after which the landlord called Kaushik about it and a complaint was filed at a police station in Guwahati.
The plea said that on April 25, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had directed the Director General of Police to immediately conduct an inquiry in the matter and a special team was formed.
The
petitioner
also
claimed
that
on
May
4,
a
CRPF
doctor
had
messaged
a
journalist
that
Rebati
Phukan
was
treated
by
him
at
a
CRPF
camp
in
Shillong
and
he
was
safe
and
sound.
It
referred
to
recent
media
reports
in
which
ULFA
chief
Paresh
Baruah
had
said
that
Rebati
Phukan
was
negotiating
a
"fresh
proposal
for
Baruah's
faction
with
the
Centre
with
help
from
the
interlocutor
with
the
Naga
outfit
National
Socialist
Council
of
Nagaland
(Isak-Muivah),
R
N
Ravi".
"Baruah further made a statement stating that the petitioner's father might be in custody of either Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Military Intelligence or National Investigating Agency as they have a rivalry amongst them," the plea said.