Insurgency / Assam

Silchar, Dec. 18: The Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) has served ?tax notices? on some tea gardens in Cachar district, raising doubts about the genuineness of the outfit?s promise to call a halt to violence and extortion.

A senior police official said the DHD recently contacted executives of tea estates in Lakhipur sub-division and Udarbond block over phone and then mailed typed letters specifying the amount of money they were expected to contribute to the outfit?s coffers.

Planters? unions admitted to being aware of the development, but declined to name the recipients of demand notices or the amount...

Guwahati, Dec. 18: With the Bodo peace talks teetering on the brink because of the Assam government?s ?inability? to meet its December 21 deadline for creation of a new administrative council, the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) today instructed its activists to get ready for a ?pullout? from the peace zone.

A source close to the BLT leadership told The Telegraph that the directive was issued after chief minister Tarun Gogoi last night turned down the outfit?s demand for a ?positive? decision on the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council by December 21, the day on which the two-year ceasefire...

GUWAHATI, Dec 17 – Agitated over the delay in finalising the boundary of the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) today asserted that it was against further extension of the cease-fire agreement. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, the vice-chairman of the BLT, Sri Kamal Mushhary said that the cease-fire agreement between the Government of India and BLT would come to an end on December 21. “We had made it clear time and again that we are opposed to further extension of the ceasefire agreement as there is no point in extending the same.” He said that...

Guwahati, Dec. 17: The Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) today rejected Dispur?s appeal to extend the term of its truce with the Centre, saying there was no question of waiting beyond December 21 for a ?positive decision? on the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

?We will not extend the term of the ceasefire. Having said that, I believe the state government can put the peace process back on track by taking a positive decision on the council before the truce expires on December 21,? BLT vice-chairman Kamal Muchahari told The Telegraph.

The pro-talks insurgent leader warned of a situation...

NEW DELHI, Dec 3 ? Assam is the lone State in the North-East to pay for deployment of Central Para-military Forces (CPMF). The State has an outstanding of over Rs 32.49 crore towards deployment of CPMF in Assam. As for the other North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, they do not have to share the burden as the Central Government has exempted them from paying for deployment of Central forces. This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani in the Lok Sabha this morning during the Question Hour discussion. The Deputy Prime Minister added that...

GUWAHATI, Dec 3 ? Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today ordered an enquiry into the December 1 Adhiapara (Dehar-kuriha) incident which resulted in the death of ten persons, including an Army Major and a sepoy and eight civilians. Chairman, Assam Administrative Tribunal MS Pangtey will conduct the enquiry and submit his report within 30 days since today, official sources here said. The Chief Minister also granted an ex-gratia amount of Rs 25,000 to the next of the kin of each of those killed in the incident, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, in a letter to Defence Minister George...

NEW DELHI, Dec 2? The Assam Government is likely to lodge a formal protest with the Defence Ministry over the Hajo incident. The State Government now wants the Army to take the civil administration into confidence before mounting any such operations in the future. Describing the incident as an avoidable tragedy, Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi said that he plans to move the Defence Minister tomorrow to complain that the civil administration was not taken into confidence by the Army. Sri Gogoi said he would request the Defence Ministry to issue a directive to the troops operating in Assam to take...

GUWAHATI, Dec 1: At least eight persons including one Army Major were killed and 10 others were injured in a clash between Armymen and villagers at Biharikota village near Kolitakuchi area under Hajo police station this afternoon. According to agency reports, nine persons were killed in the incident. The Inspector General of Police (Special Branch) Sri Khagen Sarma, said that it was a case of mistaken identity as the villagers mistook the Armymen as United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants and attacked them, and the Army platoon was forced to open fire in retaliation. Sri Sarma said...

Guwahati, Dec. 1: Nine persons, including a major and a sepoy, were today killed in bizarre circumstances at a village near Hajo in Kamrup district of Assam.

The mayhem was sparked by a mob that mistook a group of seven army personnel in civvies for a group of extortionists. Hajo police said the mob attacked the soldiers, all from the Assam Regiment, when they entered a teacher?s house in Athiyabari to enquire about an Ulfa militant.

The mob killed two members of the army team and their civilian driver with sharp weapons, prompting the remaining personnel to open fire on the attackers. Six...

GAURIPUR, July 15? Though it is often praised that the Left Front government in West Bengal has substantial achievements in respect of land reforms, decentralisation of power and women?s empowerment, etc., but in practice, it is not so. After getting Zamindari Abolition Act passed in the Parliament of independent India, the government acquired surplus land in the North Bengal districts of Coachbehar, Jalpaiguri, Dinazpur and Malda from the Zamindars who belonged to Rajbongshi community. But the land thus acquired from indigenous Rajbongshi people has been distributed to the landless people who...