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Retired SC judge to probe
politician-ultra nexus

Union Joint Secretary, home, in-charge of north east Gopal Krishna Pillai told a select group of journalists late Wednesday night that the prime minister, in consultation with the home ministry, would soon institute an inquiry, headed by a retired judge, into the allegation.

Incidentally, former Lok Sabha speaker and Nationalist Congress Party general secretary Purno A Sangma had expressed concern over a growing politician-ultra nexus in the northeast, including Meghalaya, in recent months.

Participating in a seminar in New Delhi, Sangma had stressed the need for nipping the 'dangerous' trend in the bud.

In Assam, various political parties had been accusing each other of links with underground militants for political gain.

The ruling Asom Gana Parishad and main opposition Congress were recently involved in mud-slinging, regarding 'secret killings' and the massacre of Hindi-speaking people in Assam, charging each other with 'relations with ULFA'.

In Meghalaya, there were reports that many members of the legislative assembly and ministers made use of local ultras. Even senior police officers expressed inability to deal with ultras because of 'pressure from politicians'.

Keeping these reports in view, the prime minister was considering a judicial probe into these allegations, Pillai said.

Talking about the Meghalaya Government's performance in terms of containing militancy, he said the state needed to do more to bring peace. ''Even the Centre imposed a ban on the Achik National Volunteer Council and Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council on November 16,'' he said.

Regarding his assessment of the situation in Meghalaya after the ban, he said though the state government had failed to deliver the goods, ''we are with the government in their effort to bring the ultras to the negotiating table''.

UNI

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