Tinsukia, December 02: One of the most wanted terrorists in India has played truant for nearly three decades for not attending the office, but remains an employee of central government in Assam.
Self-styled commander of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom(ULFA) Paresh Baruah is an employee of the Railways of the Northwest Frontier.
He was 21 when he got the job of a porter in 1978, under the sports quota (which was a football player) on the railways in the division of Tinsukia in eastern Assam.
“We unite as a porter at a monthly salary of Rs.370. Paresh Baruah was sincere in his practice sessions (played football for the railways), but in January 1980 did not disappear simply see again,” Supriyo Choudhury, now promoted to a conductor on the railways, he said.
Baruah, now 52, formed the ULFA in April 1979 along with five others, including self-styled chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.
Both are now believed to operate in Bangladesh, despite recent intelligence reports indicate that Baruah could have sneaked into China in search of refuge.
But Baruah is still registered as an employee of the railways despite three decades of absence from his post.
“Paresh Baruah The name is unimportant and is absent from duties for a very long period. His roster shows zero, but it is still an employee according to records,” Sanjoy Mookerjee, Deputy Director of train Tinsukia Division, said.
“There is an investigation to find out if Paresh Baruah is on our list is the same Paresh Baruah (ie ULFA leader). This time, when he joined there were no photographs and it is difficult to verify the records now.”
Hailing from the village of Jeraigaon in Tinsukia district, about 500 km east of Assam’s main city, the hard Baruah is described as a “violent man” with red corner notices issued against him and Interpol vagrancy. The maximum penalty is potentially facing the death penalty, according to the police in Assam.
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