Guwahati, March 29: The Assam government today said it would move the defence ministry if the one-man inquiry into the recent killing of a hog deer in Kokrajhar district establishes the alleged involvement of the army.

State forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi informed the Assembly that conservator of forests (western range) has been asked to conduct a probe into the incident and the army authorities have been requested to co-operate.

The minister made the statement when Bodoland Demand Legislature Party member Hemendra Nath Brahma drew the attention of the minister of state for home, Rockybul...

GUWAHATI, March 29—Forests in 41,000 hectares of land in Assam were destroyed during the period from 1996 to 1999. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Forest, Sri Pradyut Bordoloi while replying to the debate on the cut motions on the demand for grant of Rs 1,33,41,62,000 for the Forest Department for the year 2003-2004.

Sri Bordoloi, quoting a report of the Forest Survey of India, said that forests in about 20,000 hectares of land were destroyed in Sonitpur district alone. Sri Bordoloi informed the House that the State Government would formulate a pragmatic forest policy on the...

IMPHAL, March 29— Underground Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) today confirmed that it had kidnapped the German national Heinrich Wolfgang from Maphou area in Thoubal district of Manipur on March 23 last but denied it was for ransom.

“The life of the foreigner would be at risk if security forces mounted up search operations for Wolfgang who had been abducted to draw the attention of some NGOs who were discriminating against Kukis in the distribution of funds,” a KLA statement said.”

The KLA did not kidnap Wolfgang for ransom. Some NGOs had misinformed the media, that the KLA had abducted Wolfgang...

Imphal, March 28: The Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) today owned up to the abduction of Bonn-based social worker Heinrich Wolfgang and said his fate depended on the outcome of a “weeklong investigation” by its cadre into the motive behind German funding of development projects in Manipur.

A spokesman for the militant outfit said Wolfgang would remain in captivity till such time the integrity of his NGO, Evangelicher Entwicklungs Dienst, was established.

The statement was issued even as a team of representatives of local NGOs and the Church was preparing to resume negotiations with the abductors...

NEW DELHI, March 28 – Bowing to growing pressure, Union Environment and Forest Ministry has ordered an inquiry into the death of an elephant in Chattisgarh last month that involved Parbati Barua, even as the lone woman elephant-expert held it was the lack of timely and efficient veterinary support and not training, which resulted in the death of the elephant.

The controversy surrounding the death of the wild tusker in captivity has generated a lot of heat with involvement of animal rights groups, NGOs and experts including former Union Minister, Maneka Gandhi who lodged a complaint against...