IMPHAL, July 19: The Opposition today rapped rural development and panchayati raj minister N Bihari Singh for alleged illegal appointments in his department. Opposition leaders O Joy Singh, Rishang Keishing and Nimaichand Luwang accused the minister of violating the ban on recruitment imposed by the state government. Discussing the rural development and panchayat department's demands today in the Assembly, former Congress Chief Minister Rishang Keishing alleged that the department was not able to acquire funds allocated by the Centre over the past two years. Terming the minister as inefficient...

AGARTALA, July 19: Members of the Tripura Assembly today condemned Agartala Doordarshan Kendra station director VN Jauhuri for challenging the authority of the House. The members resolved to send a letter to the Union information and broadcasting ministry enclosing a copy of Jauhuri's letter to the secretary of the state Assembly. Jauhuri has come under fire for allotting programmes to a religious organisation, bending government rules, and favouritism. Information minister Jiten Chowdhury read out a transcript of the letter on the floor of the House. In the letter, Jauhuri said Agartala...

GUWAHATI, July 19: Lt Gen Mahesh Vij took over the command of 4 Corps of the Army today from Lt Gen DB Shekathar. He will now be the GOC of 4 Corps as well as the operational head of the Unified Command structure, an Army release said. Lt Gen Mahesh Vij was born on February 3, 1944 at Trichinapally. He joined the National Defence Academy in June 1960 and was commissioned to 9th Battallion of the Rajputana Rifles in 1964. From 1981 to 1983 he commanded 7th Battallion of the Mechanise Infantry Regiment (I Dogra). In these 19 years of regimental service he attained vast experience of operating in...

GUWAHATI, July 19: The law-and-order situation in the Karbi Anglong hill district is deteriorating day-by-day as six more persons were killed in the ongoing ethnic clashes in the district last night. Police sources said here that a group of about 20 to 25 miscreants, suspected to be of Bihari community, armed with bows and arrows attacked a Karbi village No 2 Serapathar under Kheroni Police Station at around 2 am last night and killed six persons. Three others were seriously injured in the attack. Police sources said that those killed in the attack have been identified as Babu Ronghang (20)...

JORHAT, July 19: After Tata Tea, it is now the turn of tea giant Williamson Magor to be in the news with the arrest of four of its officials today by the Jorhat Police following a top executive of the group offering direct help to a member of the banned ULFA. The incident has its roots in the 'Chief Secretary' of the Kakadonga Sakha Parishad, one Ratul Dutta alias Sangram Koch recently falling sick after a bout of malaria at an ULFA camp along the Assam-Nagaland border and having availed treatment on July 13 under Gajen Gogoi, employed by the Williamson Magor group at Mohbandha Tea Estate off...