It’s been a perplexing state of affairs in Assam, after the news – ‘Rebati Phukan of People Consultative Group (PCG) goes missing’ got aired on 25th April 2018.

As per reports, the former footballer was residing in a rented apartment at Ambikagiri Nagar in Guwahati, who went out for a morning walk on 22nd April, but never returned thereafter. Prior to that, special sources have revealed that Phukan was supposed to visit Guwahati for the last time, and had informed his wife in Mumbai that he would be travelling for a couple of days.

In light of his disappearance, it has been disclosed that Phukan was in the middle of negotiating Peace talks with ULFA chief, Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be a childhood friend of Phukan. His family members are of the opinion that his efforts towards negotiating peace talks with ULFA may have caused him to go missing.

Too many allegations out of very little facts

It is being said that Rebati Phukan had been meeting Paresh Baruah on a continuous basis in Myanmar and also in Romania. However, Phukan’s Passport details show no evidence of these visits whatsoever.

As per some speculations, ULFA (P) may have been behind Phukan’s disappearance, owing to the fact that on ULFA’s raising day, Anup Chetia had commented that they would invite Baruah only after the Government showed ‘sincerity’ in the Peace talks. Although this speculation may have some base to stand on, not much is known for us to conclude anything.

There are also reports of Phukan being under huge debt from a tea garden in Assam which points towards a different direction altogether.

On the other hand, certain section of people in Assam have started accusing the Government and Assam Police for ‘not putting in efforts to find him’; it’s been 10 days since Rebati Phukan went missing. In Tinsukia, people took to the streets and expressed their outrage by burning tyres and shouting slogans against the Government and Assam Police.

Amidst all these chaos, there are several other speculations and conspiracy theories doing the rounds with the objective of pinning a ‘persuasive’ cause to the whole matter, which just might explain why he went missing.

The missing point in the picture

It’s true that many emotions have spiked up since the news of Phukan being missing got published. But many people and media houses alike are failing to realize a vital point here – the case was never simple to begin with.

The Government had in fact, directed Assam Police to put in an all-out effort in tracing back Rebati; following which, a special Police force was formed immediately to look in to the facts and resolve the matter. Since then, the police have been pro-actively investigating the case.

This is a serious matter and too many factors could be linked with it. But until the police is done conducting a thorough investigation here, we can’t possibly know the ‘real facts’. Hence, any allegations against the Police, or any speculation relating to the matter will lead to nothing but more chaos.

Wait for the Police to unfold the matter

Contrary to what people may think, there’s a team of skilled Police officers working on ground to resolve the case right at this moment. While we are ‘demanding’ the Government and Police to find Rebati Phukan, it should have crossed our mind that they actually are working towards it.

It’s only justified that we don’t engage in violence and serious allegations against anyone based on half-baked facts. Let’s wait for an ‘actual’ update from the investigation team in this matter. It’s unwise on our behalf to draw conclusions based on half-known facts and assumptions.