On May 12, the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) claimed that Biju Gogoi, alias Bhagya Axom, was not killed at the ULFA-I camp, but rather committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a gun.
Santosh Lama alias Apu Axom, a suspected ULFA-I cadre seized in Jairampur near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border by the Tinsukia police on May 11, refuted all the allegations levelled against the organisation.
Meanwhile, the banned militant group stated that Santosh Lama alias Apu Axom, a suspected ULFA-I cadre, was never given the rank of a cadre since he did not agree to the ULFA-I constitution.
According to the ULFA-I, Lama fled his home to join the organisation, but he was more interested in extortion than the organization's main demand for Assam's statehood. According to a press release from the ULFA-I, this is why he was never promoted to the position of ULFA-I cadre.