North East Security Watch

[RPK]

fullstory

Huge quantities of arms and explosives seized

Kokrajhar (Assam), Oct 20 (PTI) Huge quantities of arms and explosives, including a 15-kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED), were seized during an operation in a remote village in Kokrajhar district, the police said today.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint operation by the police and the Army's 11 Maratha Regiment launched the operation in a village under Gossaigaon police station last night.

The arms and ammunitions were recovered from the house of three adivasis who are alleged to have links to Adivasi Cobra militants and suspected Maoists.

Besides the 15-kg IED, the seized arms and explosives include 28 gelatine sticks, three 9 mm pistols, an AK-47 rifle, two 7.62 pistols, a carbine, six magazines, 120 rounds of ammunition and two kgs of gunpowder, the sources said.

In another joint operation in Tinsukia district, huge quantities of arms and ammunitions were also seized yesterday.

 

[RPK]

Suspected ULFA man killed in Guwahati encounter

fullstory

Guwahati, Oct 23 (PTI) A suspected ULFA militant was killed in an encounter with the police in the wee hours today.

The police team which was on its routine patrol duty was fired upon by the ultra at around 2 AM at Gorchuk area of the city. The militant then tried to flee, police said, adding in the ensuring gunbattle the militant was killed on the spot.

A 9-mm pistol and an improvised explosive device (IED) were found from the slain militant, who was yet to be identified, they said.

Security has been stepped up in the city following the encounter

 

[Flint]

Top ULFA leaders flee Bangladesh
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Dawki (Meghalaya), Nov 6 (PTI) In a setback to ULFA, Bangladeshi security agencies have launched a crackdown on their leaders there, forcing them to flee.

In another development, two leaders of the banned outfit have surrendered to the BSF.

Self-styled ULFA foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and self-styled finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika surrendered at Gokulnagar along the Indo-Bangla border in Tripura, a BSF official told PTI.

The two were reportedly trying to enter India when they were spotted by the troops and made to surrender, he said.

Intelligence agencies said Bangladesh security agencies have raided some hideouts of the leaders of the outfit this week, prompting the cadres to flee.

ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa was said to be absconding as he slipped away hours before the raid in three different locations, according to intelligence inputs.

 

[RAM]

ULFA chief in New Delhi, prospects for talks brighten

GUWAHATI: It is now official - one of India's most wanted fugitives, chairman of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Arabinda Rajkhowa is in Indian custody, probably at an army base in New Delhi.

"I cannot say how the breakthrough has happened, but all I can say is that a breakthrough has happened and maybe within the next few days or next few hours, you would know the whereabouts of Arabinda Rajkhowa," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists, confirming that Rajkhowa is with the government. "We are hopeful to get some good news very soon and the developments (about Rajkhowa) are moving in the right direction. The signals are encouraging," Gogoi said.

Intelligence officials on Wednesday claimed to have taken custody of the 53-year-old Rajkhowa after he was reportedly arrested by Bangladeshi security forces and handed over to Indian authorities.

"All I can say is that the ULFA can discuss anything, all issues, except their demand of sovereignty, when they hold peace talks with the government," Gogoi said. We, on our part, are ready to do anything and even release jailed ULFA leaders if the talks progress well and if their release is required to smoothen the peace process."

There are now indications that New Delhi was planning to offer safe passage to the ULFA leader instead of showing him as arrested to facilitate formal peace talks with the outfit, fighting for an independent homeland in Assam since 1979.

"If he wants safe passage, we are ready to give. All these issues can be discussed and worked out," the chief minister said.

A senior intelligence official told IANS that Rajkhowa has been flown to New Delhi late on Wednesday and is being sheltered at an army base.

That the Indian government was already in touch with the ULFA top leadership was evident when Home Minister P.C. Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the ULFA leadership would make a political statement in the next two days.

But the reported arrest of Rajkhowa has already evoked positive reactions.

"We hope Arabinda Rajkhowa would now take the lead in pushing the peace process forward. We are with him if he takes the initiative to engage in peace talks with the government," Mrinal Hazarika, leader of the pro-talk ULFA faction, told IANS.

Hazarika, along with about 150 rebels of the Alpha and Charlie companies of ULFA's 28th battalion, declared a unilateral ceasefire in July last year.

The Alpha and Charlie companies were the two most potent striking units of the ULFA.

However, some of the jailed ULFA leaders on Thursday said peace talks minus the outfit's elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah would fail to yield desired results.

"Minus Paresh Baruah, peace talks would have no meaning. Arabinda Rajkhowa alone cannot help in bringing permanent peace to Assam," former ULFA publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary told IANS while being brought before a local court on Thursday.

Paresh Baruah, opposed to holding any peace talks, is believed to have sneaked out of Bangladesh about four months ago and is now hiding somewhere on the Myanmar-China border.

Last month, Bangladesh handed over ULFA's self-styled "foreign secretary" Sasha Choudhury and "finance secretary" Chitrabon Hazarika to Indian authorities.

The duo is now in police custody.

"It is a good development that Bangladesh has launched a crackdown against anti-India militants based in that country. Such cooperation would go a long way in fighting global terrorism," Gogoi said.

ULFA chief in New Delhi, prospects for talks brighten - India - The Times of India

 

[Pintu]

AFP: Bomb kills 4 in India's northeast

Bomb kills 4 in India's northeast

(AFP) – 5 hours ago

GUWAHATI, India — A bomb at a crowded marketplace killed four people on Thursday in India's insurgency-racked northeastern state of Assam, police said.

The blast ripped through the market near a police station and army base camp in the town of Missamari, around 220 kilometres (140 miles) north of Assam's main city Guwahati.

Witnesses and police officials said four people died on the spot and 17 others were injured, six critically.

Police blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) -- a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for Assam's Bodo tribe -- for the attack.

"We strongly suspect the hand of the NDFB in the blast as the area is a stronghold of the outfit," an intelligence official told AFP.

The NDFB was blamed for a series of explosions in 2008 which killed about 100 people and injured hundreds more.

At least 10,000 people have died during a two-decade long insurgency in Assam.

 

[RAM]

Indian separatists 'increasingly cornered'

Separatist rebels from north-east India, facing considerable heat in Bangladesh, are desperate to find a new sanctuary in the neighbourhood, officials say.Nearly 50 of them have been arrested by Bangladesh security forces in the last two months and quietly handed over to Indian authorities . That includes at least four top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), among them the group's chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.

Nearly 200 fighters belonging to rebel groups in Assam and Tripura have fled the crackdown in Bangladesh and some have already surrendered. Intelligence officials say many more guerrillas, totally demoralised, may give up soon. The Ulfa have maintained several bases and "safe houses" in Bangladesh since the early 1990s, Mr Rajkhowa told Assam police during questioning.

'No surrender'

He said he was picked up by Bangladesh's Detective Branch (DB) from the seaside resort town of Cox's Bazar on 2 December, when he was trying to escape to Burma with his family, his bodyguard Rajah Borah and his "chief military spokesman" Raju Barua.

"I have not surrendered, I was caught by Bangladesh police and handed over to Indian border guards," Mr Rajkhowa told reporters when he was produced in a court in Assam's capital, Guwahati, at the weekend. Mr Rajkhowa disputed Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai's contention that he had "surrendered" along with his family.

"I will never surrender and India cannot get me to start negotiations by holding a gun to my head," the Ulfa chairman told reporters at the Guwahati court. Indian officials say they expect the "moderates" in the Ulfa to start negotiations with Delhi in view of the huge pressure they are facing in Bangladesh. In the past, the Ulfa hardliners led by the group's military wing chief Paresh Barua said the group would not join talks unless the issue of Assam's sovereignty was on the agenda for negotiations.

But they seem to be softening their stand now.

"There is no split in the Ulfa leadership on this issue. It is insidious Indian propaganda and it will not work," Mr Barua, who has fled from Bangladesh, told the BBC over phone.

'Honeymoon over'

Split or no split, there is no denying the Ulfa - and other north-east Indian rebel groups based in Bangladesh - is in serious trouble. "For nearly two decades, these rebels have found shelter in Bangladesh. They trained their new recruits at bases in Bangladesh and sent them back to India to fight. Now the honeymoon is finally over," says EN Rammohan, former chief of India's Border Security Force (BSF) .

Mr Rammohan says that persistent denials by previous regimes in Bangladesh about the presence of these rebels in that country has now been "exposed" by Dhaka's firm action after Sheikh Hasina took over as prime minister earlier this year. During her previous tenure (1996-2001), the Bangladesh police arrested the Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia and two of his aides and all three were sentenced to several years in prison.

But the crackdown that started against the north-eastern rebels two months ago in Bangladesh has been much more comprehensive and unrelenting, Indian officials say.
"They have just been pushed back on charges of illegal trespass into Bangladeshi territory. That makes it easy for both sides," says a senior Indian intelligence official who is unwilling to be identified.

India and Bangladesh don't have an extradition treaty so far - but Dhaka seems to have got round this by adopting a "pushback" method to throw out the north-eastern rebels.

'All Clear'

This is easily the worst knock the Ulfa has taken in the Indian neighbourhood since Bhutan demolished their bases during a military offensive in December 2003.

That offensive, codenamed "All Clear", led to the death of a large number of Ulfa leaders and activists, including four of their top field commanders.
India expects Ulfa moderates will agree to talks Many others, including the Ulfa's founder Bhimkanta Buragohain, were handed over to India.

"We cannot control the insurgency in the north-east unless we get our neighbours to crack down on them," says security analyst Gaganjit Singh, a former deputy chief of India's Defense Intelligence Agency.

"It is great news that Bangladesh is now doing a Bhutan on this issue."

Mr Singh said India should put pressure on the Burmese to act, because nearly 3,000 fighters of Naga, Manipuri and Assamese separatist groups are based in more than 20 camps in Burma's western Sagaing Division.

"Some of the toughest north-eastern guerrillas are in these bases in Burma. If the Burmese army attacks them, they will have nowhere to go," Mr Singh said.

Although the Burmese do sometimes take military action against them, they have not undertaken a comprehensive military operation like the Bhutanese "All Clear".

Some of these north-eastern rebel leaders are turning to China, trying to exploit India's strained relations with that country in recent months.

Indian intelligence officials say the Ulfa and the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur have secured some support from China, but Beijing has denied the charges

BBC News - Indian separatists 'increasingly cornered'

 

[nandu]

BDR hands over NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary to BSF

Ranjan Daimary alias D R Nabla, chief of the anti-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and wanted in the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Assam, was on Saturday handed over to BSF by BDR, official sources said.

Daimary, who was hiding in Bangladesh, was handed over by BDR near Dawki international border in Meghalaya in the early hours, the sources said.

NDFB was originally formed under Daimary's leadership as Boro Security Force on 3rd October, 1986 and on 25th November, 1994, the outfit changed its name to NDFB.

It had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Government on May 25, 2005, but mostly flouted the ground rules of a ceasefire.

http://www.ddinews.gov.in/Homepage/...nds+over+NDFB+chief+Ranjan+Daimary+to+BSF.htm

 

[nandu]

It's a betrayal by Bangladesh: Militant outfits

Militant outfits in the northeast — the Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), the National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), the Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF), and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB anti-talk faction) — on Wednesday said the people of the region engaged in "liberation struggle" felt "betrayed" by Bangladesh's handing over of ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and other leaders to India.

In a joint statement e-mailed to local media, the outfits said: "It may be recalled that our region served as the much-needed rear base of the Bangladesh liberation war. The people of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura provided generous shelters to hundreds of thousands of Bangladesh's freedom fighters and now our region provides shelter for livelihood of hundreds of thousands of migrant Bangladeshis. It is, therefore, only natural that people of our region now engaged in liberation struggle feel betrayed in their hour of need by this act of the Bangladesh government."

They, however, said they would not "in any way react in sentimental vengeance." They expressed the hope that "the people of Bangladesh will have sympathy and support for our liberation struggle transcending their government's contrary policies."

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article62823.ece

 

[nandu]

Top HNLC insurgent caught on Indo-Bangla border

Shillong, May 8 (PTI) A top leader of banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), involved in a number of extortion and killing cases, has been apprehended by the BSF.

Self-styled sergeant major Pariston Pakyntein was arrested near Dawki along the Indo-Bangla border and handed over to the Meghalaya Police last night, police said.

He was apprehended after he along with some other cadre had crossed over to India from Bangladesh to carry out extortion in the coal belt areas.

Pakyntein is believed to have been involved in the killing of Raja Khongsit, a businessman of Pamsutia in December last year, besides a number of extortion cases, police said.

 

[nandu]

Five militants killed in Manipur encounter

Imphal, May 14, PTI: At least five militants were killed in an encounter with Assam Rifles in Chandel district of Manipur, police said here on Friday.

The heavy exchange of fire between unknown militants and Assam Rifles personnel of 21st battalion took place at Khambithel area last night in interior hill district of Chandel, bordering Myanmar.

Five militants were killed in the gun-battle that broke out after the militants attacked the personnel patrolling the area, they said.

Additional police force from the district headquarters of Chandel town have rushed to the spot, police said.

 

[Oracle]

ULFA steps up extortion drive

Staff reporter
GUWAHATI, May 20 – Though a number of senior leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are in jail and efforts are on to start the process of talks between the Government and the outfit, the ULFA is still continuing its efforts to boost the coffers through extortions.
Security sources told The Assam Tribune that the ULFA has started a massive drive to extort money to boost its coffers and a number of persons including businessmen received extortion notes. Interestingly, most of the extortion notes were sent by post and not delivered by anyone personally as was the case earlier. According to information available with the security agencies, some of the persons, who received such extortion notes, also received phone calls from persons identifying themselves as leaders of the militant outfit and apparently on most occasions, the militant outfit is ready to negotiate the amount demanded. However, no one is very sure whether anyone was paying up and if someone really paid, where the exchange of money took place.

A few such extortion notes received by businessmen in Guwahati are in possession of The Assam Tribune and the letters were signed by self styled captain Apurba Baruah, who is now in charge of the central finance unit of the ULFA after the arrest of Finance Secretary Chitraban Hazarika, who was handed over to India by Bangladesh last year.

In the letters, the ULFA demanded contributions as "the due share of the ULFA for the just cause" and security sources admitted that the sudden spurt of issuing such letters is a cause of concern and created fear psychosis among the business community. Though the ULFA has not indulged in any major act of violence in recent times, security forces are apprehending efforts by the outfit to indulge in some act of violence to prove its existence so that those who received the demand notes are forced to pay up.

Sources further said that the ULFA is now controlling the extortion drive through its Central Council Headquarter (CCHQ), which is still operating from Bangladesh and most of the instructions to the cadres are routed through the CCHQ. Several senior members of the ULFA including Apurba Baruah, Drishti Rajkhowa and Antu Chowdang are believed to be in the CCHQ and the Government of India has already provided information of it to the Government of Bangladesh so that action can be taken against the ULFA leaders still present in that country.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may2110/at07

 

[Oracle]

No let-up in operation against Assam ultras: Centre
May 25, 2010 19:21 IST

Notwithstanding the recent arrest of several top insurgent leaders from various groups in Assam, there will be no let-up on the counter-insurgency operation in Assam till insurgents give up arms and join the political process, said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The home minister, on a visit to Mizoram and Assam, reviewed the insurgency situation in Assam in a meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as well the counter-insurgency unified command (UC) structure comprising Army, Police and paramilitary forces at the Raj Bhawan.

"All are aware about dramatic improvement in security situation in Assam. We have been able to apprehend number of leaders of the ULFA, NDFB, DHD(J). In the meetings, we reviewed not only the security situation, but also the political process ( for finding solution to insurgency problem). Security forces have been instructed to continue implement the policy (counter insurgency strategy) in force now," he said.

The home minister asserted, "Insurgency has no place. Insurgents have to lay down arms and join the political process. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi will decide how the political process will take place in consultation with his cabinet colleagues. Government of India will fully support the state government in taking forward the political process and also help security forces in counter insurgency operations."

The home minister, however, declined to make any comment on the continuing stand-off between the Manipur government and NSCN-IM leader Th Muivah over the latter's proposed visit to his birthplace Somdal in Ukhrul district of Manipur.
K Anurag in Guwahati

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/may/25/no-let-up-in-operation-against-assam-ultras-centre.htm

 

[Oracle]

New battalions with Sikkim, Arunachal youth

NEW DELHI, May 25 – The Army is planning to raise new battalions comprising youth from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, states that have borders with China, on the lines of Ladakh Scouts.
The new battalions would be posted in their respective States.

The Army Commanders' Conference, which began its biannual session here recently, discussed the plans to raise these new battalions in the two States bordering China, Army officers said.

"The idea is to have battalions comprising sons of the soil from these two States. The battalions would be similar to the Ladakh Scouts, which are normally posted only in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir," they said.

On the prudence of having such battalions, officers said the two primary reasons were: the local youth's natural acclimatisation to the region's terrain, weather and environment and that they would fight to defend their land to the finish.

Asked how many battalions would be raised, they said finer details of the new battalions would come out after the Army commanders debated the issue threadbare.

Sikkim has a population of just 5.4 lakh as per 2001 Census and according to government figures, 60 per cent of them are below 24 years of age. Arunachal Pradesh has a population of 10.9 lakh as per 2001 Census and also boasts of a high youth population.

India's borders with China along Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh extends to 222 km and 1,540 km respectively. While China claims 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as its own, it also claims a small tract of territory in Sikkim called the 'Finger Area' too.

While the border along Arunachal Pradesh remains disputed, China officially recognised India's sovereignty over Sikkim during then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Beijing in 2003.

The Army's Ladakh Scouts were raised in 1963 following the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The battalion was first used as pioneers and during the Indo-Pak Kargil war in 1999 they were accorded the status of full regiments of the Army. At present, the Army has five Ladakh Scouts regiments.

Ladakh Scouts officer Major Sonam Wangchuk is the latest recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest wartime gallantry medal. Earlier Chewang Rinchen had won MVC twice, first during the 1947-48 Indo-Pak war and again during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

The Ladakh Scouts served outside Ladakh only once in 2006-07 when one of their units was posted in Chandimandir, the seat of the Army's Western Command. – PTI

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may2610/oth07

 

[Oracle]

NSCN-Centre talks tomorrow in Nagaland

For the first time in the 13-year-old history of the Naga dialogue process, talks will be held in the state on Tuesday, between the Centre's interlocutor and leaders of Nagaland Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah.
So far, over 60 rounds of talks were held in New Delhi and abroad but no breakthrough could be achieved to end the protracted Naga political conflict. Centre's interlocutor R S Pandey arrived in Kohima on Monday to hold parleys with NSCN-IM leaders, official sources said.

The talks the first of its kind in Nagaland on the issue would be held against the backdrop of prevailing situation arising out of Manipur government's opposition to the proposed visit of NSCN-IM general secretary T Muivah to Ukhrul. Muivah is camping in Viswema village near Nagaland-Manipur border since May 5 en-route to his native village Somdal.

This third round of talks after appointment of Pandey as the interlocutor in January, is likely to take up substantive issues on the basis of an earlier set of proposals submitted by NSCN-IM to the Centre. The NSCN-IM had earlier proposed to centre to hold next round of peace talks "in Naga soils" and the latter agreed to the request, sources in the group said.

The NSCN-IM is demanding creation of a 'Greater Nagaland' joining parts of three neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh to unite 1.2 million Nagas. The demand is opposed by the three states.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/may/31/nscn-govt-reps-to-meet-in-nagaland.htm

 

[Oracle]

Expedite fencing work: BSF

Expedite fencing work: BSF
R Dutta Choudhury
GUWAHATI, May 31 – The pace of construction of fencing along the Indo-Bangla border should be expedited and the Government must provide photo- identity cards to the Indian citizens living in the vulnerable sections of the border, said the outgoing Inspector General of the Assam-Meghalaya frontier of Border Security Force (BSF), Prithvi Raj. He also admitted that the vacancies in the force are turning out to be a major problem for the border guarding agency.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Raj, a Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer, who is going back to his parent cadre after completing his tenure in the border guarding force, said that the overall security scenario in this part of the country improved considerably following the improvement of the relations with Bangladesh and he hoped that the scenario would improve further in the days to come. He expressed the hope that with the BSF in the process of strengthening the troop deployment along the border, the border management would also improve in the days to come and a new Frontier Headquarters of the border guarding force in Guwahati has already been sanctioned and it is likely to be in place by next year.

The BSF IG said that the pace of construction of the fencing should be expedited and floodlights should be installed along the fencing. The BSF is coordinating with the agencies involved in construction of border fencing and the concerned State governments to ensure that the pace of construction is expedited. He admitted that there were some problems in construction of the fencing in Meghalaya because of agitations by some organizations and the BSF is in regular touch with the State government to deal with the matter.

Raj said that the BSF has been stressing the need for providing photo identity cards to the citizens living near the international border to improve border management. He said that though it would be a national project, priority should be given on the Dhubri sector as because of the ethnic similarity of the people living on both sides of the border, it is impossible to detect a Bangladeshi national if he manages to sneak into India. He further said that the concerned State governments should take immediate measures to improve the condition of the roads leading to the border to facilitate free movement of the troops to the border and the BSF has already taken up the issue with the State governments.

The BSF IG said that vacancies in almost all the battalions are another major problem as filling up of the vacant positions take a long time and adds extra burden on the troops on the border. He revealed that the overall vacancy position is around 10 to 12 percent, which is a big number considering the fact that the men on the ground are already overburdened. He also expressed the view that the process of developing infrastructure for the troops along the border should be expedited.

Commenting on the performance of the troops along the border during his tenure as the IG of the Assam-Meghalaya frontier, he said that deployment of one additional battalion early this year in the Tura sector, once considered vulnerable to movement of anti-national elements, improved the scenario considerably, while optimum utilization of the modern equipment like the hand-held thermal imagers, monocular, night vision devices, etc., acted as force multipliers and improved the performance of the force.

Raj, who took over as the IG of the Assam-Meghalaya frontier in February last year, admitted that border management was a new experience for him and in this sector, the main task of the BSF included preventing infiltration of both foreign nationals and anti-national elements and movement of contraband items. He said that the civic action programmes taken up by the BSF helped a great deal in getting the support of the people living near the international border, which resulted in improved performance of the BSF. He said that in the past one year, the BSF managed to apprehend more than 50 anti-national elements along the border and in the counter-insurgency operations, while 17 hardcore militants surrendered before the BSF.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0110/at05

 

[Oracle]

14 security personnel killed in Manipur mishaps
Sobhapati Samom
IMPHAL, May 31 – Yesterday was a black day for security service organisations in Manipur. In all 14 security personnel – 10 of 165 battalion of Territorial Army, three of 4 India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and one of CRPF, died in two separate road accidents.
Three IRB men, including a havildar, died and another seriously injured when the Alto car they were travelling in plunged into a roadside ditch after hitting a culvert on NH-39 around 12.30 pm yesterday.

The incident took place between Tangrei and Potshangbam on the Imphal-Mao section of the NH-39, around 18 km north of here under Sekmai Police Station when the IRB men were on their way to Imphal.

Havildar Ch Romesh, M Sanjoy and Kh Bishewor were killed on the spot while Havildar Angam Gangmei sustained serious injury in the accident.

Barely two hours later at least 11 soldiers, including one CRPF jawan, died when a Territorial Army vehicle fell down into a deep gorge at a place between Tupul and Kotlien area of Imphal-Jiribam section of the NH-53. Three others sustained serious injuries. They have been shifted to Leimakhong Army Hospital, reports said. The deceased army men belong to 165 battalion of Territorial Army.

The report said that the Territorial Armymen based at Leimakhong and the CRPF personnel in civil dress were picked up from Nungba area.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0110/oth06

 

[Oracle]

Sainik School to be set up in Mizoram

AIZAWL, June 3 (IANS): A Sainik School is going to come up in Mizoram. Bijoy Krishna Handique, who heads the Union DoNER Ministry, has sanctioned Rs 8,289 lakh for its construction, officials said here today.
It will be set up at Chhingchhip in Serchhip district. It will be the 26th such institution in India and the fourth in the northeast. Assam, Manipur and Nagaland have Sainik Schools.

Handique conveyed the government decision to Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla in New Delhi on Wednesday, a government official told reporters.

Sainik Schools were conceived in 1961 by then defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon to rectify the regional and class imbalance amongst the officer cadre of the military and prepare students for entry into the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Indian Naval Academy.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0310/at048

 

[Oracle]

NDFB indulging in abduction for ransom

GUWAHATI, June 2 – Even after the arrest of Ranjan Daimary, cadres of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) are indulging in abduction to extort money and according to records available with police, at least nine persons are in the captivity of the outfit in the jungle areas along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
Police sources told The

Assam Tribune that the persons in the captivity of the NDFB at present include an Indian Forest Service Officer and one 12-year-old boy kidnapped from Sonitpur district. The outfit has demanded amounts ranging from Rs 1 to 5 crore for the release of the abducted persons and the family members of some of them have already started negotiating with the abductors.

Police sources said that the kidnapped persons are kept in an area north of Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district and from time to time, whenever major operations are launched, they are taken inside Arunachal Pradesh.

"Though the police and security forces are aware of the area where the kidnapped persons are kept, it is not possible to launch a full scale operation as it may pose threat to the lives of the persons in captivity," sources said.

Sources revealed that the NDFB has demanded a sum of Rs 5 crore from the family members of VS Bardekar, an Indian Forest Service officer kidnapped on May 12 from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Giving an account of the kidnappings by the NDFB in recent times, police sources said that one Ram Prasad Raunia was kidnapped from Belsor weekly market on April 22 and on the same day, a teenaged boy, Rama Das was kidnapped from Hugrajuli. On April 23, the militants kidnapped three persons– Rubul Nath, Shiv Kumar Singh and Amar Kalita from Ramnathpur village, while on May 2, one Haridas Roy was kidnapped from Majbat. The outfit also kidnapped Ranjit Ghosh and Swapan Seal on May 21. It is believed that all the kidnapped persons are kept in the same locality, sources added.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0310/at07

 

[Oracle]

Minister's house set ablaze in Manipur

IMPHAL, June 2 – Unidentified miscreants set on fire a Manipur Minister's house in Senapati district last night. However, there is no report of any casualty.
Police said the incident took place when some unidentified miscreants poured inflammable substances on the Senapati residence of the Tribal Development Minister D D Thaissi located at the hill district headquarter, 60 km north of here, in the intervening night of June 1 and 2.

"We have taken up a case in connection with the incident," Superintendent of Police Nishit Kumar Ujjal of Senapati district said over phone. "Investigation is on", he added.

Minister Thaisii, a Poumai Naga leader, who was away in his official quarter here when the incident occurred, could not be contacted for details. The Minister's two niece and some others were inside the house at the time of the incident.

No one has claimed responsibility for the incident so far. However, All Naga Students Association Manipur, demanding amendment of the Manipur District Council Act, had been imposing indefinite economic blockade on the National Highways 39 and 53 since April 11 last. It may also be noted that out of nine Naga legislators in the Manipur Assembly, seven MLAs have submitted their resignation to Speaker Dr S Budhichandra in the aftermath of the stand off between some Naga bodies and Manipur Government over NSCN-IM General Secretary Th Muivah's proposed visit to his native Somdal village in Ukhrul district.

Last night's incident happened soon after reports of destruction of around 10 houses belonging to candidates of the second phase Autonomous District Council (ADC) election which was held in the three hill districts of Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul on Wednesday.

Each ADC has 24 members. Of the 72 seats in the three districts, 36 candidates were declared elected uncontested. Thus elections were held in 30 seats – 20 in Tamenglong district, four in Ukhrul and six in Senapati to decide the fate of 184 candidates who are in fray.

Polling in almost all the polling booths were reportedly poor. But district authorities are planning to hold re-polling in some polling booths. Sources from Ukhrul said poll percentage in the district is said to be nil. But officials are likely to recommend repolling in Huishu, Laihoaram and Etham.

Senapati also witnessed a similar scene except a couple of booths which saw some voters.

More than 40 polling booths out of 77 are expected to see repollling in Tamenglong district.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0310/oth05

 

[Oracle]

Dr Gohain meets ULFA leaders in jail

GUWAHATI, June 3 – The detained leaders of ULFA may respond to a Government 'feeler' for a negotiated settlement of the ULFA insurgency. This was the impression they gave to Dr Hiren Gohain, the spokesman appointed by the Convention for Revival of Talks between the Government and ULFA (Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan), during his visit to the Guwahati Central Jail yesterday.
Talking to this newspaper here today, Dr Gohain said that the Government is yet to make any sort of contact with the detained ULFA leaders, who consist majority of the surviving members of the militant outfit's central committee.

These leaders of the outfit have given the people involved with the convention the impression that they are for a negotiated settlement of the vexed issue. This attitude of the detained ULFA leaders created a feeling among the organizers of the Jatiya Abhibartan that it was sensible to persuade these militant leaders to be more flexible on their political demands without sacrificing their basic principles.

"The detained leaders of the outfit agreed to consider our suggestion positively," said Dr Gohain.

Finally, this initiative taken by Dr Gohain and his colleagues resulted in the state-level Jatiya Abhibartan. The resolutions adopted in this convention have already been sent to the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister was also met by the office-bearers appointed by the convention in the last week of May.

The Chief Minister, after giving the delegation a patient hearing, assured it steps to contact the detained ULFA leaders informally so as to be assured of a positive response from them on the issue of negotiation, said Dr Gohain.

"As far as I understood from my visit to the Guwahati Jail yesterday, such contacts are yet to be established by the Government," said Dr Gohain.

He also clarified that during their meeting with the Chief Minister, the latter did not raise any point on any formal communication from ULFA for the negotiation process to commence.

"But I also understood (from the meeting with the detained ULFA leaders yesterday) that while they might send such a communication from the organization, they were not in a position to formally take a decision on talks within the four walls of the jail," said Dr Gohain.

The delegation of the office-bearers appointed by the state-level convention requested the Chief Minister to take up speedy measures to create a congenial atmosphere for resumption of talks. To create such a condition, it pleaded particularly for the release of the detained leaders of the outfit so that they can convene a full session of their central committee in a spirit of freedom from constraint, said Dr Gohain.

On the issue of ULFA c-in-c Paresh Barua, Dr Gohain said that Barua's stand on the issue of talks was not a major issue in the discussions either with the Chief Minister or with the jailed leaders of the militant outfit.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0410/at09