Pradyut denies role in missing couple’s case

Responding to insinuations in a section of the media seeking to link him with the disappearance of a couple from Margherita, State Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said that contrary to it, he had done his best to help track the duo. He even favoured a CBI probe in this connection. In a press conference today the minister revealing his concern and apprehension over the missing persons, stated he had been in constant touch with the police after Prasanna Turung and his wife Kamai Turung went missing in April 2007. Close on the heels of their sudden disappearance he had written a letter to the Tinsukia SP and sent a copy of that communication to the Director General of Police. This year he also wrote to the Chief Minister in his personal capacity. In his letter to the Chief Minister, dated June 5, 2008, he stated, “I would request you to kindly consider handing over the case either to the CID or to the CBI as you deem fit.”Referring to the case of the missing couple, Bordoloi mentioned that he had known Prasanna Turung, as he was a candidate from Margherita on several elections in the recent past. In 2006 Turung had represented the NCP while contesting the Assembly polls. Therefore, after he and his wife went missing on April 8, 2007, and FIRs filed, he also contacted the police requesting a sustained investigation.In due course the police made a special squad to put a trace on the missing couple. Subsequently, two persons – Komu and Apu – were arrested from Siliguri by the West Bengal Police. They also spent some time in custody before they were let out on bail. Bordoloi scotched rumours that he could be in anyway linked to the disappearance of the Turungs, saying, “My culture and ethos would never allow me to spite or harm any one who could be a political rival. Besides, that would not be in the spirit of my party under the leadership of Tarun Gogoi.”He went on to say that it was difficult to describe Prasanna Turung as his political rival because although the former had contested elections on several occasions, he had polled votes in the range of 150 to 2,000. Bordoloi, on the other hand, had won the last elections with a margin of around 60,000 votes.Interestingly, the minister hinted at a possible NSCN link to the case. Prasanna Turung’s wife belonged to the Tangsa tribe and had roots in Changlang, and some family members suspected people close the NSCN active in that part of Arunachal Pradesh could be involved in the mysterious disappearance. Source: assam tribune