Guwahati: The banned United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) on Thursday claimed that Biju Gogoi alias Bhagya Axom was not killed in the ULFA-I camp, rather he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a gun.

Refuting all the allegations levelled against the organization by a suspected ULFA-I cadre Santosh Lama alias Apu Axom who was arrested by Tinsukia police in Jairampur near Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Wednesday, ULFA-I in a press communiqué stated that Biju Gogoi alias Bhagya Axom was suffering from inferiority complex and was morally down after falling into trap of his teammates. He was unable to perform his duty according to a suicide note which was recovered from the camp.

He shot himself in the head with a gun at the camp between 12 am to 3 am on February 21, 2022, said ULFA-I while sharing a suicide note allegedly written by Biju Gogoi.

The banned militant outfit also claimed that the suspected ULFA-I cadre identified as Santosh Lama alias Apu Axom was never given the rank of a cadre as he failed to stand by the constitution of the ULFA-I.

According to ULFA-I, Lama who left his home to join the ULFA-I was more interested in extortion related activities rather than the outfit’s core demand for the sovereignty of Assam. Thus, he was never given the rank of a ULFA-I cadre, stated ULFA-I in the press statement.

Earlier, Santosh Lama during a police interrogation had claimed that a former All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) leader Pengri Unit, Biju Gogoi alias Bhagya Axom allegedly joined the outlawed faction in January 2020 and was shot to death at ULFA-I camp in Myanmar in the month of February 2022.

Following the revelation by Santosh Lama, the family members of Biju Gogoi at Pengri urged the ULFA-I C-in-C Paresh Baruah to clarify the matter and update his current status of health.

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