GUWAHATI, March 17: The Additional Director General of Police (Operations), GM Srivastava, today lamented that though the law-and-order situation in the State has improved remarkably well during the last three years, a few tea giants with their headquarters in Kolkata and their tea gardens spread over the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, continued paying money to insurgent outfits. Delivering a lecture on the security overview of the State at a seminar on 'Development constraints and economy of Assam' here this morning, Srivastava informed that in spite of the best efforts of the State's police...

AGARTALA, March 17: The Mizoram government's bid to link the repatriation of more than 31,000 Reang tribal refugees stranded in six North Tripura camps over the past three-and-a-half years to the issue of Bru militancy has dimmed the prospect of an early repatriation of refugees. Mizoram government's latest stand was made clear at a tripartite meeting held in Delhi between the chief secretaries of Mizoram, Tripura and senior officials of the Union home ministry. Mizoram chief secretary H.V. Lalringa said unless the Bru National Liberation Front stopped terrorist activities in Mizoram...

IMPHAL, March 17: An Army havildar, who had once tried to stop Assam Rifles personnel from dragging a minor boy away from his house, is likely to face court martial on charges of obstructing operational activities. But the issue threatens to snowball into a major controversy as the September 1999 incident has been taken up by the National Human Rights Commission. Havildar Bhorot Singh, a resident of Heirok village in Thoubal district, was serving in the ninth battalion of the Assam regiment at the time of the incident. He is now attached to the 14 battalion of the National Cadet Corps here as...

IMPHAL, March 16: Leaders of most political parties active in the State have endorsed the ongoing month long ceasefire declared by the Radhabinod Koijam-led People's Front government. A resolution to this effect was adopted at an all-party meeting held this afternoon at the Chief Minister's secretariat under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam. The meeting took an overview of the prolonged separatist movement in the State and the consequent law and order situation, and discussed possible ways and means for bringing back the 'misguided youths' to the national mainstream. While...

GUWAHATI, March 16: The State government today clarified that it had reinstated suspended police officials RM Singh, IPS, and Raghabendra Awasthi, IPS, on the basis of recommendation made by the Review Committee constituted for the purpose. In an official statement it was mentioned that Government of India in 1998 amended the existing provisions of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, and as per the amendment no officer should be kept under suspension beyond 180 days and cases of suspension are to be reviewed by a Review Committee to be constituted for the purpose...