Tinsukia: The United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) on Saturday said that it has sentenced two of its newly recruited cadres to death for allegedly being ‘spies’ of the police.
Issuing a statement, the outfit alleged that the two cadres – Dhanjit Das of Barpeta and Sanjib Sarma of Baihata Chairali – were spying against the outfit at the behest of the state police, a claim denied by Assam police.
The development comes close on the heels of a video released by the banned outfit in which the youngsters were seen admitting to have acted on behalf of the police and against ULFA-I.
“As per the decision of the lower judicial council they were issued the death penalty since the crime committed by both cadres are unpardonable,” a statement signed by self-styled brigadier A.Z. Shironam Asom read.
Asom said that Dhanjit Das had fled from the Salman camp on April 24 and was captured by ULFA-I a day later. “During interrogation, he accepted that he had prodded several newly recruited cadres to surrender and also passed sensitive information to Assam police,” the statement said.
On May 4, the lower judicial council held him guilty of escaping from the outfit during a special operation, encouraging others to leave the outfit and involving in anti-revolutionary activities and sentenced him to death, it added.
However, it is not clear whether the release has been issued after the execution of both the youths.
The outfit also claimed that Sanjib Sarma, who was detained in Myanmar, was planted by a senior officials of Assam police and was spying on the outfit. “He confessed about joining ULFA-I on directions of police officers with the intention of passing the outfit’s internal communications to police using modern technology so that ULFA-I commanders and cadres could be eliminated.”
In the video released on Saturday, Sarma can be heard saying that while working for Assam police he used to believe ULFA-I is a terrorist outfit. “Only after I joined it, I realised that it is a revolutionary organisation working to protect Assam’s society and territory. Fuelled by greed for money and instigations by police, I committed anti-Assamese tasks. I urge youngsters not to fall for such traps and bring their own deaths,” he said in the video.
“I had joined ULFA-I for the greed of money and on instigations by Assam police officers. I had tried to escape from the outfit’s camp and take along other newly recruited cadres with me. I have realised my mistake and urge youngsters not to take such steps and welcome their own deaths like me,” Das said in the video.
Earlier, senior Assam police officials refused to comment on the ULFA-I claims.
Das, who’s in his early 30s, used to work as a salesman in a cloth store, and has a four-year-old son. He left his home on March 22. Sarma, about to turn 19 next month, had also left his home in the month of March and were suspected to have joined Ulfa (I).
The incident comes at a time when there are reports of more than hundred youths who are missing and suspected to have joined the outfit, raising alarm bells in the security corridors.
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