Is he dead or alive, the question over the survival of PC Ram has become a mystery now. Earlier in the month of April, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had claimed to kidnap Food Corporation of India’s Executive Director P C Ram.
The report had said that the ULFA had allegedly abducted PC Ram and had demanded a ransom of Rs 21 crore for his release.
However, on July 1, the state police recovered a body in a decomposed condition from Anandapur village in Assam’s Baksa district.
The body was later identified by PC Ram’s son Prabeen Kumar Ram as the body of his father.
Rajen Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) told media persons that Prabeen had identified the body and they took the body to New Delhi for the final rites.
Now, the story has taken another twist and this is being reported that PC Ram is still alive and is in the custody of ULFA. According to the report, the Assam Police have claimed that they mistaken in the identification of that body. According to the police, that body was of a former army personnel named Sunil Kumar Chauhan (45).
Baksa SP Kankan Jyoti Saikia has confirmed the report and told media that Sunil Kumar Chauhan was an ex-serviceman. He was re-employed at the Army Base Hospital at Basistha in Guwahati.
On 28 June, some ULFA cadres had killed Chouhan in Anandapur village. Some of the arrested ULFA members have given confessional statements of this killing. The ULFA cadres killed Chouhan in a suspicion that he was a army informer.
Earlier, when the police had claimed that that body was of PC Ram, ULFA also had denied that Ram is dead by informing local newspaper office. On last Saturday, PC Ram had reportedly talked with his family on telephone from an undisclosed location.
The police are still in little mess and waiting for the final DNA report to disclose of the odentity of that body. Guwahati City SSP Surender Kumar said that as per legal and official records, Ram is dead. His son has identified his body. But the police department is waiting for the DNA report.
The biggest question is that is the state police is capable to release PC Ram from ULFA, if he is alive or it would again wait for another dead body to be found in the jungles of Assam. It has been almost three months since P C Ram was abducted and his fate to return home safely is still uncertain.
