GUWAHATI, June 2: Despite the brouhaha raised over the death of Parag Kumar Das, executive editor with the Asomiya Pratidin, his murder remains unsolved even a year later.

The Assom Gana Parishad-led state government, the state police and underground militant organisation ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), had each promised to bring the killers to book within a specified period. However, no progress has been reported in the case after the Mahanta government, whose third day in power was marked by Parag's murder, handed it over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The 36-year-old executive editor of Asomiya Pratidin -- the two-year-old Assamese daily which now sells nearly one lakh copies -- was gunned down by unidentified assailants in broad daylight. Das' eight-year-old son, Rishi, was with him when the incident occurred outside his son's school.

The police immediately issued a declaration that they would arrest Parag's killers within a week. However, their progress has so far been limited to identifying the assailants. ``They (the alleged killers) have all gone out of the country,'' is the oft-repeated excuse given by the police.

On its part, the Mahanta Government preferred to sit back after handing over the case to the CBI. ``Now that the case is with the CBI, the mystery will have to be solved,'' remarks Chief Minister P K Mahanta.

A former Stephanian, Parag had risen to fame and controversy with his bold pro-ULFA and anti-establishment writings, which first appeared in Boodhba -- a vernacular weekly. The then chief minister, Hiteshwar Saikia, had sent him to jail twice on charges of inciting anti-national feelings.

Parag was also considered to be an ideologue for the ULFA as he exposed the alleged exploitation of Assam's rich natural resources. Consequently, he was declared a ``martyr'' by the militant outfit's self-styled commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua, who also claimed that they would identify and ``punish'' the murderers. But, like the other assurances, this promise also rang hollow and there was no retribution for Parag's death on that front either.

Earlier, Parag along with his chief editor Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and controversial lawyer Lachit Kalita had figured in a sensational ``hit-list'' allegedly prepared by a political-criminal nexus during the Congress reign in the State. Kalita was murdered a few weeks before the 1996 general elections.

Among the people under suspicion for Parag's murder are two senior police officers who were reported to have been very close to Hiteshwar Saikia. They are alleged to have exploited their proximity to the chief minister by indulging in extra-constitutional activities. But no concrete evidence has been found against them.

During the course of the state government's investigations, officials also accused former ULFA militant Prafulla Bora alias Sarbajit Dhekial Phukan of being involved in Parag's death. Bora is now reported to be hiding outside the country. His close associate, Kajal Khan, also managed to escape from police custody under mysterious circumstances. It is believed that some policemen helped him flee.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.