Insurgency / Assam

DIPHU, February 25: The chairman of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, Daniel Teron's house was attacked by suspected militants of the United Peoples' Democratic Solidarity last night, official sources said here. A group of about 10 to 12 militants came last night to Teron's house and opened indiscriminate firing. Teron, who was inside the house, and other family members were not injured, but the house suffered partial damage. Security has been strengthened around Teron's house and the police has launched a massive combing operation in the area to nab the militants, the sources said.

NEW DELHI, February 23: Rattled by the apprehension that the ruling AGP might use the surrendered ULFA cadres to rig the forthcoming polls in the State, Assam Congress party has decided to move the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking its direction to the State Government to rein in the armed elements. The decision to approach the EC was taken by the Assam Congress Parliamentary Party at an emergent meeting here chaired by the APCC president, Tarun Gogoi and attended by all senior leaders of the party, including Manmohan Singh, disclosed the convenor of the forum, Madhab Rajbongshi...

SHILLONG, February 23: The encounter between the ULFA and Meghalaya Police in West Garo Hills district yesterday foiled the militant group's mission to loot the Helidayganj branch of the State Bank of India. The district SP, B R Rana said over phone from Tura that the ULFA boys were hiding in a village with a plan to loot the SBI branch. Six militants were killed on the spot and four others arrested in an encounter with the police at Nishanipara village, about 60 kms from Tura around 3.30 pm yesterday. Giving details of the incident, he said, acting on a tip-off, a police team rushed to the...

GUWAHATI, February 23: The government's hoopla over making Assam an "investors' paradise" got a rude shock with a Japanese trade expert today saying no person from a foreign country would like to come to a conflict zone. The statement, which jolted top government officials and industry bigwigs on the concluding day of the international conference on "Business Opportunities in Northeast India: Guwahati Initiative", came from Yashinobu Sei, an official of the FICCI-Japan cell. On the possibility of Japanese investment in the state, Sei said Assam should be safe enough for foreigners to work and...

GUWAHATI, February 18: Anup Chetia, general secretary of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), currently under detention in Bangladesh, was on Sunday convicted by a Dhaka court and sentenced to three years in jail for illegal possession of foreign currencies of as many as 16 countries. Reports from Dhaka said Mohammad Humayun Kabir, the special tribunal judge, also fined Chetia alias Golap Barua 5,000 Bangladeshi taka or about $92 in addition to the three-year prison term involving 'hard labour.' Chetia, now 50, was arrested by Bangladesh immigration and security officials from...

GUWAHATI, February 18: For the past few years, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has been carrying out a cyber war against the Government by propagating its views through the internet, and now it is the turn of the Assam Police to hit out against the militant outfit through the net. In its newly-launched website, the Assam Police issued a list of wanted persons and ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah topped that list of wanted persons. The list also includes the names of ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, general secretary Anup Chetia, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and the...

GUWAHATI, February 18: The Allahabad Bank with 58 branches in the State has been facing the music over non-recovery of loans to surrendred ULFA men to the tune of Rs 3.50 crore over the years, informed office-bearers of the local unit of the All India Allahabad Bank Officers' Association (AIABOA) which is affiliated to the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC). Addressing medipersons here yesterday, the office-bearers informed that recovery in this regard was almost nil putting a lot of strain on the management. As recovery measures quite a few suits have been filed against the State...

GUWAHATI, February 15: The growing links of the militant outfits of the Northeast region with foreign countries is causing concern among the security forces engaged in the counter-insurgency operations. Police sources said that at present almost all the major militant outfits operating in the region have foreign links and their leaders very often take shelter in foreign countries to escape the security net. Sources revealed that the first recorded links between NE militants with foreign countries dated back to 1960s when the Naga militants established contacts in China. In fact, the Isak...

GUWAHATI, February 14: With the launching of a new web-site, Assam Police has gone on the cyber network today. The new web-site - www assampolice. com or www. Assam police.org was launched by Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta at a special function held at Director General of Police (DGP) office here. The web-site will have information about the activities of various organisations including SB, BIEO, Border, CID and FSL, besides steps initiated by the police in containing perennial military problem of the State. Moreover, the photographs of hardcore militants have been incorporated so that...

AGARTALA, February 13: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has of late taken a keen interest in the Tripura militancy. According to intelligence reports, the Assam out fit is trying to unite the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) and National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), the two rival outlawed groups, to launch a joint fight against the 'Indian government'. A joint meeting of the ATTF and NLFT was held last month at Srimangal (Sylhet) in Bangladesh where the ULFA commander Priyabrata Barua and his deputies were present. The ULFA has a strong base camp there. In fact the ULFA has been...