Ghosh’s NGO apologises to ULFA, pulls out of Assam

According to NGO sources in Assam, the volunteers working with the agency in Majuli in Jorhat district (Upper Assam) have already started packing up, following instructions received from its head quarters in New Delhi.

The sources also said that ULFA made its conditions very clear to Sanjoy Ghosh’s wife Sumita. The two conditions given were: “Immediate withdrawal of AVARD-NE from Assam” and “an unconditional appology by the NGO to the people of Assam for hurting their sentiments.”

Today, AVARD-NE president P N Tripathi issued a statement after top leaders of the ULFA contacted Sumita Ghosh, Sanjoy’s wife. ULFA leader P Barua made it clear that no NGO should operate in Assam without first getting its permission.

The ULFA reportedly told Ghosh’s wife that it would not release the social worker to any Indian but only to a foreigner or a foreign agency. The NGO has accepted all the conditions laid down by the militant outfit.

AVARD-NE also conveyed its deep sense of regret and offered its unconditional apology. Local sources added that there was a chance that Ghosh might be released somewhere inside Bhutan.

Meanwhile, the family of the abducted social worker has appealed to authorities, in particular, the military authorities, not to take any action which may jeopardise Sanjoy’s welfare during the period of the negotiations for his release.

An AVARD-NE spokesman at Jorhat said that although they had been given seven days to withdraw, they had already started moving out.

There were six members of the NGO from outside the state excluding Sanjoy and his wife, while around 20 others were local Assamese youth from Majuli, Jorhat and Guwahati.