Brojen Gogoi, a key figure in the ongoing row between the Assam government and Tata Tea Ltd, was arrested and interrogated on his arrival at the Borjhar airport in Guwahati from Calcutta yesterday. He will be produced in court today.
Gogoi is the second Tata Tea officer to be arrested after general manager S S Dogra, who is in judicial custody on charges of aiding and abetting the secessionist Ulfa.
Gogoi is said to have accompanied Ulfa culture secretary Pranati Deka to Mumbai for her medical treatment. His statement during interrogation is considered to be crucial in the light of the Assam governments charge against Tata Tea of funding Ulfa militants.
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Tata Tea had earlier informed the state government that Gogoi, the Guwahati-based welfare and community development officer, was away in London for training. He was, however, recently traced to the US, official sources said.
Intelligence reports with the state government state that Gogoi was seen in the company of top Ulfa leaders at Geneva during the recent meeting of the Unrepre-sented Peoples & Nationalities Organisation (UNPO).
Gogoi was reported to have returned to India last week. However, there was no information about his arrival from immigration authorities, who had been alerted. Therefore, Assam government officials believed that he had entered the country on a forged passport.