GUWAHATI, Aug 7: There are few takers here for the ULFA claim that Sanjoy Ghose fell off a cliff in Arunachal Pradesh to his death on August 4. Most, including the Intelligence agencies, believe the AVARD-NE activist may have been killed much earlier.

The State's vernacular papers, which generally side with the ULFA for fear of the militants, also today termed Ghose's reported death a ``cold-blooded killing'' and the ULFA a ``murderer''.

``The Sanjoy Ghose episode has once and for all proved that the ULFA which claims to be the State's guardian angel is nothing but a gang of cold-blooded killers,'' remarked The Eastern Clarion, an English daily published from Jorhat, in a front-page editorial titled ``Shame''.

Dainik Agradoot called the ULFA leadership a pack of liars. In a front-page signed editorial, the editor of the vernacular daily published from Guwahati wrote: ``The Sanjoy Ghose issue has once again proved that the ULFA is in the habit of telling lies.'' The Assam Tribune, the leading and oldest daily of the region, said the credibility of the ULFA had been shattered by the Ghose episode. ``The ULFA's name is today in the mud,'' the paper added. ``Assam is hanging down its head in shame and horror at what the banned outfit has done.''

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