NEW DELHI, March 29 ? Huge funds earmarked for combating militancy were found to have been diverted by the Eastern Army Command authorities to purchase vehicles, television sets, VCR?s, computers and generators, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General, reports PTI. Making a close scrutiny of the allocations for the first time, the CAG said the Eastern Army Command purchased consumer goods worth Rs 6.79 crore over a period of three years from 1998 to 2001 from the Rs ten crore annual fund given to Army Commanders by way of special financial powers. ?These funds are allocated to meet...

SHILLONG, March 29 ? Fifty-eight years since an unknown number of soldiers and villagers laid down their lives at the remote village of Shungshak in Manipur during the Second World War, a War Memorial has finally come up in the village to honour the memory of the forgotten heroes. Shangshak was the witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the Eastern front in March 1944. The onslaught of the 31st Division of the seemingly invincible Japanese Imperial Army was halted in the little-known village for a crucial ten days by the brave soldiers of the Indian 50 Parachute Brigade. The soldiers of 4...

IMPHAL, March 29? Kidnapped Deputy Commissioner of Manipur?s Chandel district, Yambem Thamkishore was today released by underground NSCN (I-M), district superintendent of police P Dhanakumar said. Dhanakumar told PTI over phone from Chandel that Thamkishore was freed by the kidnappers at a place near Chandel. The SP said he did not know on what condition the NSCN (I-M) released Thamkishore who had been kidnapped from Chandel area on March 18.

As a condition to release Thamkishore, the NSCN (I-M) had earlier demanded return of the arms captured by India Reserve battalion personnel after an...

GUWAHATI, March 29? The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) have procured a huge cache of arms and ammunition from an agency in Bangladesh during the last month, highly-placed official sources disclosed today. The sources further said that a 10-member group of the banned militant outfits purchased these arms from Chittagong in Bangladesh, which included AK series rifles, SLRs and grenades.

?According to reports, the agency in Bangladesh has been providing arms and ammunition to various underground organisations of the North East for the...

NEW DELHI, March 27 ? In an encouraging development, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is likely to re-start its Nagaland operations shortly, even as the two oil companies including Oil India Limited (OIL) has attributed breakdown in law and order situation and poor infrastructure facilities in the region as among the main factors for a sharp decline in crude oil production in the region. Its truce time in Nagaland an so taking advantage of it, the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has hammered out an agreement with the Nagaland Government to resume operations in the State, under...