June 29, 1998

A mediator's killing exposes the differences among Bodo militants.

By Avirook Sen

To those who knew him, Guwahati High Court advocate Surojit Mitra's greatest asset was his ability to communicate with people. His links with all major Bodo factions in Assam were founded on this quality: he became a self-styled mediator between the Bodos and the Government, passing on feelers that were being sent out by either side for talks. Ironically, this virtue may have cost him his life.

On the evening of June 13, Mitra left his residence in the Kahilipara area of Guwahati -- close to the offices of the Assam police special branch -- and picked up three Bodo youths he apparently knew on the way to a supposed rendezvous in Dhirenpara in the heart of the city. His personal security officer (he was given security because of the perceived threat to mediators) and his driver were with him. But as they reached their destination, the Bodo youths suddenly opened fire. The security officer was killed on the spot and his body dumped. While the driver escaped, Mitra found himself trapped in his Maruti van with a gun to his head. The youths then took over the wheel. But not for long -- Mitra was brutally shot outside a post office nearby and his body left in the abandoned van.

Mitra came into the limelight during Defence Minister George Fernandes' recent visit to Assam. Having started out as a lawyer who was able to bail out militants with unerring regularity, Mitra graduated to becoming an important overground link with Bodo organisations. During Fernandes' visit, Mitra reportedly arranged a 45-minute telephonic conversation between the secessionist National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the defence minister. But characteristically of Mitra, he went to the press about the conversation almost as soon as it was over. Says a senior police official: "He should have exercised more caution, considering what he was into." The Bodos are a very fractious lot; there is tremendous animosity between the two major groups, the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and the NDFB. And even within the NDFB, there is serious difference of opinion on whether to go for talks or not. Mitra was trying to organise talks, and in doing so could have antagonised either the BLT or the more recalcitrant strain within the NDFB.

However, there seems to be more to it than meets the eye. Police sources say that the real reason for the killing could easily have been money. The NDFB had stepped up its extortion drive in Guwahati, and Mitra allegedly organised negotiations between businessmen and militants, even collecting money for the banned group. The fact that he had recently finalised the purchase of two flats in Calcutta aroused suspicions that he may have been siphoning off some of the money meant for the militants. And in such cases, the Bodos are especially unforgiving. "We are exploring this angle as well as whether he was killed by the anti-talks faction of the NDFB," says DGP K. Rishikeshan. The police have made more than a dozen arrests so far, but is still to ascertain which lead to follow.

For the Government, however, Mitra's killing may prove a dead end. And, more importantly, it may have scared off future mediators as well. The band of lawyers who make the rounds of the TADA court in Guwahati -- and often have access to militants -- seemed shocked at the killing. But there is also a great deal of surprise in the fact that the defence minister, who is supposed to have used Mitra to gain access to the NDFB, has remained silent. Says senior advocate Niloy Dutta, who has represented top ULFA leaders: "Fernandes hasn't uttered a word about the killing, despite the fact that he had gone to Mitra's house late in the night to supposedly communicate with the militants. And the Government never made it clear that Mitra was mediating, preferring to leave the issue for the press to speculate on." Such an attitude definitely does not augur well for future mediators.

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