GUWAHATI: A suspected United Liberation Front of Asom–Independent (ULFA-I) linkman was shot by the police in Assam’s Sivasagar district while trying to flee from custody, officials said on Wednesday. However, the father of the accused Raju Ahmed claims police conspiracy, adding that his son had no links with the banned militant outfit.
Ahmed was allegedly extorting money from local businesspeople and others under the guise of ULFA-I when he was apprehended by police in the Demow area of the district on August 12.
“We received accusations that he was using the moniker ULFA-I to extort money from local businessmen. He was detained as a result of this,” a Sivasagar police official said.
Ahmed was transported to multiple locations after his detention as part of the investigation, the police said.
Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, a spokesperson for the Assam Police, said: “On Tuesday midnight he tried to flee from Demow police station by attacking the officials and our officials fired at him in defence.”
Ahmed was taken to a nearby government hospital by police after that, where it was discovered that he had many bullet wounds to the lower half of his body.
According to sources, police have filed a new complaint against him for allegedly assaulting the officers who were on duty and trying to escape from jail.
Meanwhile, Ahmed’s father asserted that his son is innocent and was set up as a ULFA-I linkman.
On Wednesday, he told reporters that the police had brought Ahmed to his house for an inquiry on August 12, just after the arrest, and that they had been accompanied by some questionable characters.
“Five cops arrived that day, including the circle inspector and the VDP secretary. However, one individual, Raju Phukan, who was not a police officer, accompanied them,” he claimed.
Ahmed’s father also said that Phukan arrived and sat next to his son, pulled a paper out of his pocket, and casually placed it next to him before the police began their investigation.
According to the memo, Ahmed sought Rs 20 lakhs from a Shashant Borgohain on behalf of the ULFA-I. “Police took this into account as evidence but disregarded Phukan’s behavior. It is suspicious because they overlooked Phukan’s wrongdoing and still permitted him to join them in the probe. I think my son has been set up,” the father said. The police, however, refuted the claims, asserting that they had arrested him with sufficient evidence and that more inquiries were ongoing. (IANS)
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