NEW DELHI, Dec 27 � Describing the gruesome killing of TE owner Mridul Bhattacharya as most tragic, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that a decision has been taken to institute a high-level inquiry into the incident.
The Chief Minister told this newspaper on the sidelines of the NDC conference that the incident was very unfortunate and tragic. He stressed that there was a need to get into the bottom of the killing. �It is rare for the tea workers to react in the manner they did. We have to find out what had happened and why they reacted in the way they did,� Gogoi said.
�We will ask the inquiry committee to look into the entire gamut of issues,� he said.
Meanwhile, officials accompanying the Chief Minister said they are in close contact with the local administration in Tinsukia. Gogoi said he was briefed about the killing late last night.
�Two bodies have been recovered and until the DNA test results come in, we have decided to treat MKB Tea Estate owner Mridul Kumar Bhattacharya and his wife Rita, as missing persons�, said an official.
Our Tinsukia Correspondent adds: The District Magistrate, Tinsukia has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the gruesome incident that took place at Kunapathar TE under Bordumsa Police Station of Tinsukia district in which the owner of the tea estate, Mridul Bhattacharya (75) and his wife Rita Bhattacharya were burnt alive in their bungalow by tea garden workers yesterday.
It may be mentioned that nearly 1000 workers of the tea garden and its factory namely, Satarupa Tea Factory became violent over the issue of arrest of two workers Ajit Mura and Suraj Mura by the police on the same day in a case in which an FIR was filed by the owner three months ago. After not getting any satisfactory reply from the owner, the irate mob armed with lethal weapons lit fire to the bungalow confining the couple in it.
The fire in the house started about 4 pm and continued till midnight and the workers did not allow the firefighters to douse it. It is alleged that though police from Bordumsa reached the post, they remained a mute witness in front of the irate mob. The inquiry has been entrusted to the Executive Magistrate, Margherita, Bipul Das.
