Assam: Tirap council demands SIT probe into 18-year disappearance of tribal leader

Eighteen years after the chilling disappearance of prominent tribal leader Prasanna Turung and his wife Kamai Turung from APO Colony, Margherita, the Tirap Autonomous District Council Demand Committee has renewed its call for justice—demanding the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the long-unsolved case.

Addressing a press conference today, General Secretary and spokesperson Pallab Shyam Wailung appealed to the Prime Minister of India, Union Home Minister, Assam Chief Minister, and the DGP of Assam Police to immediately constitute an SIT for a fresh and independent investigation.

On April 8, 2007, Prasanna Turung, a towering tribal figure from 83 Margherita Constituency and a central voice of the Tirap Autonomous District Council movement, along with his wife, vanished without a trace from their home. Despite multiple pleas and a CBI inquiry in 2007, the case was closed in 2009 due to “lack of evidence.”

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Wailung alleged that Turung’s disappearance occurred during the tenure of the then-Congress government and raised suspicions over the involvement of high-profile political figures—including the then MLA of Margherita and current Nagaon MP, Pradyut Bordoloi. Turung had earlier organized protests against illegal land encroachments in the Tirap Tribal Belt, which reportedly made him a target.

“Prasanna Turung was more than a leader—he was a symbol of hope for our tribal youth. His voice inspired a movement,” Wailung said. “Eighteen years is too long. The truth must come out, and justice must be served.”

The Tirap Autonomous District Council Demand Committee expressed hope that the present BJP-led administration would act decisively and give closure to the grieving family and community.