Gogoi in double trouble as AASU alleges more tainted ministers

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is landing in more trouble if All Assam Students Union is to be believed. The state's powerful students body has urged the prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to order CBI probe into the allegations against five cabinet minister of the Tarun Gogoi Government.Talking to reporters on Tuesday in the city, the AASU leaders said they called on Dr Singh in the capital on Monday and urged Dr Singh to order CBI probes into the allegations raised against five cabinet ministers citing some specific allegations against them namely health minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, water resources minister Bharat Chandra Narah, excise minister Gautom Roy and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi. In a memorandum submitted before the Prime Minister, the students body has sought his intervention in the implementation of the Assam Accord, separate identity for Assam Oil Division and also for steps to bail out the Numligarh Refinery from the crisis. AASU General Secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said, "we called on PM on June 9 and apprised him of the allegations against these ministers and urged him to order CBI probe into these allegations."They informed that the Prime Minister will contact the Assam Government soon in this regard before asking CBI to probe these. AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharjee alleged that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has been harbouring these tainted colleagues in his ministry. They further informed that in the memorandum they also demanded steps to implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit, retaining of the current entity of the Assam Oil division, ensure subsidy for the Numligarh Refinery. They informed the mediamen that Dr Singh would soon seek report from the union home ministry."The Prime Minister has assured us of steps to address all these grievances and he himself has been monitoring these matters," said AASU president Shankar Prasad Roy.

Action & Reaction: Assam Govt to handover Prasanna Turung case to CBI

Action & Reaction: Assam Govt to handover Prasanna Turung case to CBI

Hours after the AASU submitted some specific allegations against five cabinet colleagues of Tarun Gogoi to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the first one to react with action is power minister Pradyut Bordoloi. Caught in the allegations of his role in the missing of Margherita NCP leader Prasanna Turung and his wife, the minister has urged the Chief Minister Mr Gogoi to hand the case over to CBI for a detail probe into it which the Assam Government has done accordingly.Talking to reporters on Tuesday, the minister said the government has done it in view of an aroused demand for a CBI probe as the police enquiry has been remaining clueless. Mr Turung and his wife Kamai Turung have been remaining untraced since April 8, 2007 from Margherita.According to Mr Bordoloi, there is widespread rumour among a section of people that a political conspiracy could be working in the missing of the Turungs.The minister said as soon as he received the complaint from Tirap Autonomous Demand Committee, he ordered the Tinsukia police superintendent to look into it with due seriousness but police investigation is still clueless.This has forced the minister for power, commerce and industry and also Margherita MLA Pradyut Bordoloi to urged the Chief Minister to order a CID or CBI probe into the case so that the real culprit could be identified and punished..The minister has admitted that the arrest of Ripun Bora has done a lot of harm for both party and the government.

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