Former Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta found himself in the dock over the infamous "secret killings" of close relatives of members of the banned ULFA during his regime between 1996 and 2001.

A judicial inquiry commission constituted by the Congress government has indicted former chief minister Mahanta and the Army for carrying out those "secret killings" in the state in the period.  The Justice(retd) Khagendra Nath Saikia Commission's report, tabled in the state assembly on Thursday by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, stated "there is enough evidence to show that the then home minister (Mahanta held the home portfolio) was at the helm of these extra-constitutional killings".

The report said, "The killings were carried out by masked men who would knock at the door to wake up the inmates of the house and then drag them and shoot them dead or take them away and secretly kill and throw their bodies somewhere."

The commission, formed in 2005 to enquire into the killing of 11 people between 1998 to 2001 when Mahanta headed the Assom Gana Parishad government, found, "lurking evidence of police and surrendered ULFA militants' nexus in the killings, some of the latter being constituted into an extra constitutional authority and used as executioners."

Mahanta termed the report biased and engineerd by the Congress government to finish his political career. He said the Commission had violated the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 by taking up suo moto 23 cases in addition to 11 cases recommended by the government for probe.