ULFA Chief Paresh Baruah Demands PM to Release Akhil Gogoi on "Humanitarian" Grounds

Jorhat, April 30, 2020:

Paresh Baruah, the leader of the non-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), has recently added his voice to the scores demanding the release of imprisoned Assam activist Akhil Gogoi.

The ULFA leader said that the COVID-19 does not choose its victims on the basis of race or religion, adding that Akhil Gogoi and his compatriots deserve a "fighting chance" against the virus.

"Human life is a fragile spectacle that revolves around the Act of compassion we display towards one another in a time of misfortune such as the present", Baruah's message said, adding that the "candle of empathy" must be rekindled regarding our fellow countrymen who are imprisoned in Assam -- meaning Gogoi and his fellow activists.

Claiming that Akhil and his Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) never indulged in any "criminal activity", the ULFA chief alleged that they have been imprisoned because their politics did not see "eye to eye" with the current administration of Assam.

Urging the Prime Minister to give amnesty to Gogoi and his compatriots on "humanitarian grounds", the ULFA leader urged the ruling administration to arrange the release of the anti-CAA activist. "An ounce of leniency will stand tall as epitome of kindness and empathy", said Baruah in his note to the Prime Minister.

At the same time, 102 noted personalities of Jorhat district in Upper Assam have also forwarded a note to the PM via Assam Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami, wherein they have demanded an immediate and unconditional release of Gogoi and his comrades, Dhaijya Konwar and Bitu Sonowal.

Earlier this week, We the People of India, a conglomerate of civil society organizations opposed to the CAA, had also urged for the release of Gogoi.

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The body has demand an end to all attempts to end “democratic protests against the unconstitutional CAA”. The anti-CAA organization has already demanded the release of Akhil Gogoi and the dropping of “cooked up charges” against him under “draconian laws.”

The body, expressing concern at the incarceration of Akhil Gogoi, a prominent activist from Assam, has said that it is “deeply distressed and worried about the continuous and repeated detention of social activist Akhil Gogoi, who has not been keeping well and against whom the Government has failed to prove any charges.”

The latest cycle of arrests, the body said, is in response to his active participation in the anti-CAA protests and began when he was arrested from Jorhat on December 12, 2019.

The NIA failed to file a charge sheet against him within the mandatory 90 day period and therefore, the Gauhati High Court granted him bail. However, the Siblvasagar police immediately re-arrested him in a case that was registered a year back. On March 26, Gogoi was granted bail in another case of the Panbazar Police Station (crime branch).

The case was registered in January and was once again, related to anti-CAA protests. The Government advocates are yet to reveal the cases pending against him. On April 7, the Gauhati High Court issues an interim stay order on a bail in the case. On April 23, the Court stayed his bail and he was sent to custody yet again.

It should be noted that 3 new cases were filed against Gogoi in April 22. Two were filed by Dibrugarh Sadar thana of Dibrugarh district and another from Tinsukia district.

Gogoi, a vocal opponent of the ruling BJP and its ideological RSS, was sent to judicial custody again on April 23 last after being produced in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) court in Guwahati.

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