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Skeletal remains could be Ghose's, say police

A Special Correspondent in Guwahati

The police suspect that the skeletal remains found recently on the river island of Majuli in Assam, could well be that of abducted social activist Sanjay Ghose.

The bones, which medical professionals have ruled as belonging to a human, are to be sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for DNA testing.

It was the first skeleton found in the area where Ghose is believed to have been killed last year. The secretary of Avard-Ne, was kidnapped by United Liberation Front of Asom activists on July 4, 1997, from the Bangaon area of Majuli island and killed thereafter. His death remains a mystery till today.

The militant outfit has claimed that the social worker was killed after falling off a cliff in Arunachal Pradesh in August last year, but the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the matter, said Ghose was killed within 24 hours of his abduction.

North Lakhimpur superintendent Subhrojyoti Hazarika said some pieces of cloth and a small rope were found along with the bones. "Tailors have said the cloth could have been part of a jacket," he said.

"We do not rule out the possibility of the skeleton being Ghose's since it has been found a short distance downstream from where his body was thrown into the river," Hazarika said, and added that the truth will be known only after the scientific tests are carried out.

A two-member CBI team, which wrapped up its investigations into the kidnapping and murder last week, has already visited the site of the recovery, and the Bureau is expected to file a chargesheet shortly against eight ULFA militants for Ghose's murder, although it is possible that the chargesheets may be delayed till it is ascertained if the skeleton's identify is established. Of the eight ULFA militants, two are dead, two are in custody and four are absconding.

The Bureau has announced a reward of Rs 100,000 for information on the absconders.

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