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TURA, April 9 — The huge cache of arms seized by the West Garo Hills Police on Tuesday evening after an encounter with militants was meant for the banned ULFA. The outfit had planned to transport the armoury from Garo Hills to Assam to attack security forces and disrupt normal life during its raising day, which passed of Monday. Documents seized from the encounter site reveal these facts. The arms shipment was brought all the way through Bangladesh and concealed in Chisikgre village of West Garo Hills, bordering Assam, since the last two weeks, highly places sources revealed.

A team of ULFA...

Shillong, April 8: How does one describe a septuagenarian woman who gives up her family riches to live in a cave? Eccentric or compulsively adventurous?

Seventy-one-year-old Bris Sibon Basiawmoit’s lifestyle — far from the madding crowd and closest to nature — qualifies her to be branded a combination of both. Lovingly called Mei Deng by those close to her, she has been staying in a cave at Um Sharang in Ri Bhoi district for seven years now.

Ask her why she lives alone in a cave and Basiawmoit’s reply is a simple one.

“I am happy here, unlike in the cities, which are far and full of problems...

Guwahati, April 8: The seven-member advisory group to the ministry of home affairs, set up to look into the security loopholes in the seven northeastern states, today rued that despite several attempts, it has not been able to meet any of the chief ministers except Tarun Gogoi.

The group, which include among others, supercop K.P.S. Gill, former Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary S.K. Agnihotri and Lt. Gen. (retired) S.K. Pillai, was also supposed to recommend measures to plug those loopholes.

“We have been trying for the past six months to meet all the chief ministers. But we managed to meet...

Silchar/Guwahati, April 8: Tension continued to crackle in the twin districts of Cachar and North Cachar Hills after the recovery of an unidentified body today, while the Assembly team that had visited the strife-torn areas blamed both Hmar and Dimasa militants for the ongoing ethnic feud.

The toll in the ethnic riots was revised to 24 after the body of a suspected victim in the massacre on March 31 came floating down the Rukni river, near Monierkhal in Cachar district, this morning.

Section 144 CrPC was clamped in Halflong town as a precautionary step after miscreants set fire to a scooter...

GUWAHATI, April 8 – The whole system of governance in the North-east has failed or is in a state of collapse. A parallel system of government exists in the region in the form of militants. Most of the money spent in the North-east ultimately ends up in the hands of militants. These were the grim observations of a group of retired bureaucrats, police and military officers who constitute the North East Study Group (NESG). The advisory group, set up on the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani in November 2001, is chaired by former Meghalaya chief secretary SK Agnihotri and has...