Where is Paresh Barua? Ask the media

In the absence of official confirmation, it is interesting to see how the local television channels have come out with their own ‘exclusive’ versions of how and when the arrest took place. All these speculations were triggered by news reports on the website of the New Indian Express, says TERESA REHMAN.

Posted Friday, May 21 11:47:08, 2010 (www.thehoot.org)

“Paresh Barua arrested in Bangladesh -- Media” ' a ticker ran in a local television channel NETV. If media reports are to be believed then the elusive supremo of the banned outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Paresh Barua has been arrested in Bangladesh and is now being lodged in an undisclosed destination. However, news reports also stated that the Union Home ministry has denied reports of his arrest and dismissed all reports stating that he has been handed over to Indian authorities.

Barua happens to be one of the ‘most-wanted' in South East Asia after Interpol issued a Red Corner notice for him. And the commander-in-chief of ULFA happens to be only ULFA top-rung leader who has never been nabbed. Born on May 1, 1957 at Jeraichakali Bhariagaon in Assam's Dibrugarh district, Barua is one of the founders of the proscribed outfit.

In the recent cases of handing over of the four top ULFA leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa, Raju Baruah, Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika and the NDFB chief Ranjan Daimari, they were handed over to the BSF in early morning hours by the BDR. Besides, though they all were arrested earlier, the report was not confirmed by both India and Bangladesh till the handing over was completed. Barua's ‘arrest' would be historic in the sense it would be the last nail on the outfit's coffin.

In the absence of official confirmation, it is interesting to see how the local television channels have come out with their own ‘exclusive' versions of how and when the arrest took place. The frenzy over Barua's 'arrest' has been dominating the headlines in the local channels in the past few days. According to one channel, the Bangladesh authorities arrested another dreaded ULFA cadre Bhaity Baruah from the Mahakali area in Bangladesh.

Another unidentified person was arrested along with him and reports speculated that he could be Paresh Barua. Incidentally, Bhaity Baruah's wife and his two children had mysteriously arrived at their residence in Assam's Sivasagar district from Bangladesh. And the channel found it equally mysterious that the local police is yet to question or arrest her. She told newspersons that she has come home on the advice of her husband. It could be that they had very tactfully surrendered themselves to the authorities.

Another channel stated that the Bangladesh intelligence traced him through the last email he had sent to some media houses in Assam. They traced it to China. Then on his return to Bangladesh, he was followed from the airport while he was travelling in a Toyota car. The Bangladesh police arrested him and after that there has been no news about him.

The channel also stated that something did happen in Bangladesh and all these speculations were triggered by news reports on the website of New Indian Express, www.expressbuzz.com. According to this news report, “The dreaded ULFA leader was apprehended by the Bangladeshi security agencies about 12 days ago when he was crossing over to Bangladesh via Myanmar border after visiting Chinese Yunnan province. Barua had left for Yunnan about four months ago after the Bangladeshi authorities launched a massive crackdown on anti-India insurgent groups. He was said to be on a purchasing spree of arms and ammunition for his outfit from Narinco Arms factory.”

In fact, the Bangaldesh daily The New Nation quoted the report in expressbuzz.com about Baruah's arrest. The daily also quoted Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder who pleaded ignorance about the arrest of Paresh Barua. According to this report, “Bangladesh officials had been shy of confirming the arrest and handing over to India of the ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and three of his comrades early this year, and National Democratic Front of Bodoland Chairman Ranjan Daimary couple of months ago.”

The New Nation also quoted an IANS report from Guwahati, Assam, where Indian Home Secretary G K Pillai pleaded ignorance about the arrest of ULFA Commander. They also cited television channels in Assam and some newspapers on Thursday reported that ULFA's elusive commander-in-chief was arrested in Bangladesh about a fortnight ago upon his return from China. Meanwhile, another leader of ULFA Anup Chetia is likely to be handed over to the Indian authority soon said the Indian media recently. Anup Chetia was in a Bangladesh prison for about ten years.

The Telegraph report with the headline “Buzz over Paresh arrest” on May 19, stated that a person suspected to be Paresh Baruah was apprehended while returning from a business trip in China. The report claimed that the person was apprehended about a fortnight back. It also claimed that the person arrested was being interrogated by the Bangladeshi intelligence agency DGFI somewhere close to the Northeast.

The report cited, “Sections in the security establishment want to double-check the identity of the suspect in Bangladesh, a difficult task, considering the sketchy details about Paresh Barua's current physical description. Agencies in India so far were depending on a photograph that is more than 15 years old. The ULFA commander-in-chief has been absconding since 1990 when he made Bangladesh his permanent home. He has several cases against his name in India and Bangladesh where he has business interests valued at Rs 500 crore, according to intelligence sources.” The report further claimed quoting unconfirmed sources that the outfit's general secretary Anup Chetia was even handed over to India in Delhi recently.

The Assam Tribune on May 20 wrote that “The report of arrest of Barua caught officials in the Home Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry by surprise. The Embassy in Dhaka was contacted, as intelligence agencies got busy verifying the reports.” Another report in the same daily cited “the ULFA has started a massive drive to extort money to boost its coffers and a number of persons including businessmen received extortion notes. Interestingly, most of the extortion notes were sent by post and not delivered by anyone personally as was the case earlier.”

Most comprehensive was probably a programme on the local channel DY365 which featured a programme profiling all the top leaders of the banned outfit with their background, early lives, family details, their role as militant leaders and finally the way they were nabbed. The screen had photographs of all the leaders who were caught. But there was a blank slot for the prize catch -- Paresh Barua.

ends