AGARTALA, March 10: In a new twist to the ongoing feud in the Indigenous Peoples' Front of Tripura, senior party leader and chief executive of the autonomous district council (ADC) Debabrata Koloi tendered his resignation to the district council chairman Hirendra Tripura. Koloi's letter did not specify why he was resigning from the 28-member council. Neither was he available for comment. His detractors in the IPFT had, in deputation, met Governor Lt. Gen. (retired) Krishna Mohan Seth on March 7. They submitted a memorandum seeking his ouster saying 11 out of 18 elected members in the council...

NEW DELHI, March 10: In a significant development the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has shifted two petroleum products (POL) distributors from Assam to West Bengal and Rajasthan following threats by the ULFA and NDFB militants. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry's action assumes significance because it has come at a time, when the Centre in its report, claimed that the situation in Assam has shown improvement this year. The Home Ministry, in its annual report, painted a rosy picture claiming that the overall situation has shown improvement as the number of killings has gone down...

GUWAHATI, March 10: As erection of border fencing and posting of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have failed to effectively check the infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals into Assam, steps have been initiated to create a second line of defence just behind the BSF line to check the foreigners who manage to sneak through the barriers. Official sources said here that 28 places have been selected along the 270 km-long Assam-Bangladesh border for the posting of the second line of defence comprising personnel from the Border Police Force to check influx of the illegal migrants from Bangladesh...

GUWAHATI, March 10: For the first time in the entire country, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen militants have come overground in a public function. Six Pakistan-trained Harkat-ul-Mujahideen ultras who hail from the State, bade farewell to arms before the Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, at an official ceremony held at the Circuit House here this morning. The militants also deposited one AK-56 assault rifle, one AK-47 assault rifle, one pistol and a .303 rifle while surrendering in the function which was attended by three Cabinet colleagues of Mahanta, the Chief Secretary and the entire top brass of...

NEW DELHI, March 10: The Centre is likely to announce ceasefire in Northeastern states to create an atmosphere conducive for talks with insurgent groups, and to restore peace in the region. Officials said despite differences of opinion among Chief Ministers of the Northeast, the Centre is firm on extending ceasefire in all Northeastern states. The announcement will be made after discussing with the Union defence minister, George Fernandes, and approval of the Cabinet committee on security. The Chief Ministers of the Northeastern states met the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union...