GUWAHATI
The Gauhati High Court on Friday ordered the verification of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate that independent MP Naba Kumar Sarania had submitted while filing his affidavit for the Lok Sabha elections.
A former extremist, Mr. Sarania represents western Assam’s Kokrajhar parliamentary constituency.
Former income-tax officer and tribal activist Janaklal Basumatary had challenged Mr. Sarania’s ST status, claiming that it was fake. He also said that the authorities concerned had brushed aside his complaints for the past three years.
Hearing the case, the High Court ordered a State-level scrutiny committee to look into the allegations against the MP.
Mr. Sarania had joined the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom in the 1980s and received arms training in Myanmar and Afghanistan. Known as Heera Sarania then, he was the commander of a major strike battalion of the outfit.
