<p>The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to respond to a habeas corpus petition filed by the son of a peace-negotiator from Assam who has been missing since April 22.</p>.<p>A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Mohan M Shantanagoudar initially sought to know from senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for petitioner Kaushik Phukan, as to why he did not approach the Gauhati High Court.</p>.<p>As the counsel submitted that the matter involved more than one state and it was suspected that central agencies may have detained him, the top court agreed to issue a notice to the Union government.</p>.<p>The court also asked the Assam government to continue its probe into the FIR lodged after Kaushik's father, Rebati Phukan, went missing. In his petition, Kaushik sought a CBI or SIT probe into the matter.</p>.<p>Rebati, a former footballer and businessman, was appointed as a member of the People’s Consultative Group formed by the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) in 2005 to mediate between the separatist outfit and the Centre.</p>.<p>“He has been missing since April 22 and despite the lodging of an FIR to trace his whereabouts, no proactive steps have been taken till date,” his petition claimed.</p>.<p>“It is suspected that he may be in the custody of the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Military Intelligence or National Investigation Agency as they (Ulfa) have a rivalry amongst them,” he apprehended.</p>.<p>Kaushik claimed his father has been assiduously working since 1990 to facilitate a peace dialogue between the Union government and Ulfa.</p>.<p>In 1997, the petitioner’s father played a major role in getting Anup Chetia, Ulfa general secretary, to India after he spent about 18 years in a jail in Bangladesh.</p>.<p>He cited a news report stating that his father was negotiating a fresh proposal for Paresh Baruah’s faction with the Centre with help from the interlocutor to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muviah), R N Ravi.</p>.<p>The petitioner also sought security to a journalist, Aamir Hazarika, who had received an email that his father was being treated at a CRPF camp in Meghalaya.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to respond to a habeas corpus petition filed by the son of a peace-negotiator from Assam who has been missing since April 22.</p>.<p>A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Mohan M Shantanagoudar initially sought to know from senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for petitioner Kaushik Phukan, as to why he did not approach the Gauhati High Court.</p>.<p>As the counsel submitted that the matter involved more than one state and it was suspected that central agencies may have detained him, the top court agreed to issue a notice to the Union government.</p>.<p>The court also asked the Assam government to continue its probe into the FIR lodged after Kaushik's father, Rebati Phukan, went missing. In his petition, Kaushik sought a CBI or SIT probe into the matter.</p>.<p>Rebati, a former footballer and businessman, was appointed as a member of the People’s Consultative Group formed by the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) in 2005 to mediate between the separatist outfit and the Centre.</p>.<p>“He has been missing since April 22 and despite the lodging of an FIR to trace his whereabouts, no proactive steps have been taken till date,” his petition claimed.</p>.<p>“It is suspected that he may be in the custody of the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Military Intelligence or National Investigation Agency as they (Ulfa) have a rivalry amongst them,” he apprehended.</p>.<p>Kaushik claimed his father has been assiduously working since 1990 to facilitate a peace dialogue between the Union government and Ulfa.</p>.<p>In 1997, the petitioner’s father played a major role in getting Anup Chetia, Ulfa general secretary, to India after he spent about 18 years in a jail in Bangladesh.</p>.<p>He cited a news report stating that his father was negotiating a fresh proposal for Paresh Baruah’s faction with the Centre with help from the interlocutor to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muviah), R N Ravi.</p>.<p>The petitioner also sought security to a journalist, Aamir Hazarika, who had received an email that his father was being treated at a CRPF camp in Meghalaya.</p>
