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Mystery behind Rani treasure shrouds Lakhimpur

By Correspondent

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, June 30 - The mystery behind the hidden treasure of Rani, where Rs 300 crore belonging to the armed separatist group ULFA was believed to have been hidden, engulfed Lakhimpur on Tuesday when a person accused his own younger brother of keeping a part of the same cash. The incident took place in Fatehpur village under Bangalmara police outpost in Lakhimpur district when a villager Ramzan Ali informed the police about the possession of a huge amount of cash belonging to the mysterious Rani treasure by his younger brother Qassem Ali.

Accordingly, the police reached the residence of Qassem Ali and started digging the floor of his house in search of the hidden cash as pointed out by Ramzan. Ramzan alleged that Qassem had brought a huge amount of cash three years ago and hid them in two white sheets of clothes in two drums under the ground with his help. Ramzan also alleged that Qassem had told him that the cash was brought from Rani.

According to Ramzan, Qassem Ali was allegedly staying at the Kali Mandir of Rani as a priest in the name Babul Das. However, after digging the floor of the house of Qassem Ali, police found nothing. It also appeared curious about the financial status of Qassem Ali. A poor agricultural worker, who tilled other persons land three years ago, is now a owner of 15 trucks, an SUV and several other cars with a sprawling house. His meteoric rise from poverty to prosperity in a short duration has made his fellow villagers amazed.

However, Qassem attributed his prosperity to hard work and collective business ventures by his sons. He said that a property clash with his elder brother Ramzan Ali has made the latter resort to such baseless allegations. Though the police released both the brothers on Wednesday evening, sensation prevails in the entire Bangalmara area of Lakhimpur district which has already earned a dubious distinction of being the hub of criminal activities like fake gold and counterfeit currency trades. This time too, the police did not initiate any probe into the unaccountable properties of Qassem Ali. The public also alleged that Qassem Ali is always seen sitting at Bangalmara Police Outpost and has been a close aide of the police.

Meanwhile in a related incident, the Lakhimpur police arrested Yasin Ali and Afjaur Rahman of Bangalmara for duping three persons by selling statutes made of fake gold. The duo had allegedly sold a statute made of fake gold for Rs 7 lakh to three customers from Sikkim. When the three customers discovered the fake state of the gold artifact, they contacted the police in Guwahati. The Lakhimpur police on a tip off from the Guwahati police arrested the two fake gold traders from Bangalmara on Wednesday.

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