LK Advani wanted to send KPS Gill to Assam for secret killings: Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati (Assam), [India], Feb 21 (ANI): Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday said that former Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani was willing to send KPS Gill to Assam for 'secret killings', a practice "rampant" during the tenure of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta as the state's chief minister.
Claiming that he was under pressure from the previous NDA government at the Centre to continue with the secret killings, Gogoi told ANI: "When I came to power in 2001, I was pressured to continue the secret killings, but I did not do it."
"When KPS Gill was suggested as the governor for Assam by Lal Krishna Advani to continue with the practice and control menace of extremist groups, we vehemently opposed it, following which Advani didn't pressurise us," Gogoi said. 
"The secret killing happened when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was the Chief Minister. He himself had admitted that secret killings took place in Assam on the instructions from Delhi," he said.
"I was against the elimination of the innocents. It was an issue raised by us during the elections. I had promised that if I come to power, then we will stop this activity. In secret killings, innocents people, who are relatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and extremists, were forcefully abducted at midnight from their houses and they were later eliminated," he said.

Former Assam Chief Minister further condemned Pulwama attack and said: "We all are together with the Centre and strict action must be taken against the ghastly Pulwama terror attack."

Commenting on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement about the attack on CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, Gogoi said: "The whole world knows that terror activities in Kashmir are sponsored by Pakistan. We all should stand against Pakistan, which is providing shelter to terrorists."
As many as 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 after a suicide bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into their convoy in Awantipora area of Pulwama in Kashmir. 

The Pakistan-based terror group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. (ANI)