GUWAHATI, June 18 � The death of Manik Baishya, executive engineer of the State Agriculture Department, could have been averted had the police made timely moves after they were apprised by the victim on June 15 of the extortion demand served on him.
An FIR was lodged with the Dispur police in the evening of June 15 claiming that the ULFA has served an extortion demand to the victim.
This has raised serious questions on the credibility of the Assam Police when it comes to safeguarding the life and property of citizens.
What has further aggrieved the local residents is that a team headed by the DSP of the Dispur zone reached the victim�s house as late as 11 pm on Thursday though the abduction had taken place around 5:30 pm.
Meanwhile, investigators probing the case have claimed that though the banned ULFA�s 709 battalion had demanded Rs 50 lakh from Manik Baishya, it was Ganesh Bharali, the driver of the deceased, who masterminded the abduction and subsequent killing of Baishya on Thursday night.
Investigators informed that there does not seem to have been any involvement of the outfit behind the abduction and the entire act. As preliminary investigation suggests, the act was carried out by Ganesh Bharali along with his bother Ramesh and relative Dinesh Das, who were arrested from the residence of Das in Bonda area a few hours after Baishya�s body was recovered from Jalukbari area.
�The trio is nowhere linked with the outfit,� the sources pointed out.
�The outfit demanded Rs 50 lakh which came down to Rs 15 lakh after negotiation. The outfit, however, was yet to fix any specific date for the collection of the first installment of the demand fixed at Rs 5 lakh,� top police sources confirmed.
Investigators revealed that though Ganesh Bharali has confessed of having committed the crime, the statements made by each of them during questioning do not corroborate.
�The driver was aware of the negotiation taking place between Baishya and the outfit and tried to cash in on the situation,� the sources stated, adding that the abductors somehow got the impression that Baishya was carrying some cash with him and even had plans to collect ransom after taking him in custody.
�It appears that things did not go the way it was planned and as the abductors were known to the victim, he was strangulated to death,� sources claimed.
Meanwhile, forensic experts got into action and finger prints were collected from the deceased body as well as the vehicle in which the deceased was traveling,� the sources added.
Additional SP (City) Longnit Terang said that the investigation is heading in the right direction and very soon the mystery behind the abduction and subsequent killing would be solved.
