The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former ULFA(I) leader Amar Singh alias Arup Konwar of all wrongdoings in the murder case of former Assam minister Nagen Neog. The CBI had approached the apex court to challenge the Gauhati High Court's 2013 order exonerating him.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had detained Konwar last month from his Golaghat residence. The former United Liberation of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) leader was then granted bail by the Kamrup district and sessions court.
As reported earlier, his arrest was due to evading Supreme Court summons on several occasions, after which an arrest warrant was issued. However, Arup Konwar was present for the hearing today in which the SC exonerated him of all charges.
In 2013, the Gauhati High Court had acquitted Konwar, alias Tutu alias Amar Singh, in the CBI case charging him and two others in the killing of then Rural Development Minister of Assam, Nagen Neog and eight others in 1996.
Due to the lack of sufficient evidence, the high court had acquitted Konwar, while declaring the other two accused as absconders. He had moved the high court after the Kamrup district sessions court had convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2007.
Investigating the case, the CBI had accused him along with Pranjal Saikia and Ananta Saikia, in its chargesheet, of killing Neog and eight others, including five security personnel in an ambush at Singijan Bridge in Assam's Golaghat on May 6, 1996. Notably, Neog was the husband of current Assam finance minister Ajanta Neog.
In its reply to the judgment, the CBI sought one month's time to move the Supreme Court. Accepting the probing agency's plea, the high court held Konwar's release order for another month.
More recently, he was arrested last month by the CBI, but was granted bail the next day by the Kamrup district and sessions court. During his court appearance, Singh expressed his frustrations, claiming, "The CBI has failed to apprehend other culprits," hinting at potential external forces involved in his arrest. He further alleged, "There is a third party's hand behind my arrest," raising significant questions about the motivations behind the legal actions taken against him.
