GUWAHATI: At the instance of Assam chief minister and home minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam police have launched a massive search operation to find a former peace broker of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), who went missing from the city in the morning of April 22 during while he was out on routine morning-walk session.
Rebati Phukon, a former employee of the Oil India Limited and a renowned soccer player of his time, was one of the key members of People’s Consultative Group (PCG) that was formed by the ULFA in the year 2005 to broker peace between Government of India and the outfit, the undivided United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
Director General of Police (DGP), Mukesh Sahay informed that Phukon went missing after he had gone out of his Ambikagiri Nagar residence in the city for a morning walk on April 22 last. He had arrived in the city on April 19 from Pune where he had gone to visit his daughter.
His two mobile phones were found switched off and the family members told the police that it was his habit to leave the mobile phones switched off when he went out for morning walk, the DGP said.
“We have tried everything possible to trace Rebati Phukon. The Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has been taking a close tab on our efforts to trace the missing person,” the DGP said adding that Guwahati City Police Commissioner, Hiren Nath is heading the special police team engaged in the operation.
Meanwhile, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the banned ULFA (Independent), Paresh Barua who used to be a close friend of Rebati Phukon since his childhood, alleged that there might be some conspiracy behind the episode of Rabati Phukon going missing and called upon Assam Chief Minister to take all possible steps to find him out.
Paresh Barua used to play soccer with Rebati Phukon during their youth years and Phukon was made a member of the PCG at the instance of Paresh Barua.
The PCG was a citizen’s group in Assam constituted by ULFA to initiate the talk process as mediator between the central government and the outfit itself. It was constituted on September 8, 2005 with 11 members in it. The committee was later dissolved by ULFA in the first week of February 2011 as ULFA decided to initiate peace talks on its own.
The ULFA is now divided into two factions – the ULFA (pro-talks) led by Arabinda Rajkhowa and ULFA (Independent) as well as anti-talks faction led by fugitive Paresh Barua who has pitched his base in neighbouring Myanmar.