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                          Vol.3, No.39  [*]  June 15, 1998
                          --------------------------------

                  Do not buy either the moon or the news,
                  for in the end they will both come out.
                             - Syrian proverb.
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  NDFB BEHIND KILLING OF ADVOCATE IN GUWAHATI	           [S:15-JUN-98]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   Police confirmed the involvement of NDFB militants in the killing  of
   a Guwahati-based advocate Surajit Mitra. Police picked up ten persons
   for interrogation in connection with the killing from different parts
   of  Guwahati.  Mr Mitra was killed by three youths who were picked up
   by Mitra himself in his Maruti van at Dhirenpara  area  on  Saturday.
   His personal security was also killed while the driver escaped with a
   leg injury. Mr Mitra was shot dead from point-blank range in his car.
   
   Advocate  Mitra  was  appointed  by the Union Defence Minister George
   Fernandes as mediator  between  the  Centre  and  the  NDFB  and  was
   instrumental  in  bringing a contact between the Defence Minister and
   the NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary in recent months. Mr Mitra (35) is  the
   second  person  to be gunned down while trying to mediate between the
   Government and  the  ultras.  In  1991,  former  AJYCP  leader  Bipul
   Mahanta, who tried to mediate between the Government and the ULFA was
   gunned down in the Silpukhuri area of Guwahati.
   
   Some  sources said that investigation was on to ascertain whether the
   killing was the fallout of some business transaction between the NDFB
   militants and him. There are also allegations that Advocate Mitra was
   engaged in `extorting money' from businessmen of the city  on  behalf
   of  NDFB.  Police  also  recovered some valuable information from the
   purse of late advocate.
   

2  GOVT ORDERED TO PAY COMPENSATION FOR CUSTODY DEATH	   [S:14-JUN-98]
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   The Gauhati High Court, in a significant judgement on May 28, ordered
   the  Assam Government to pay Rs.200,000 as compensation to the family
   of Romanudeep Tati (14) of  Jamuguri  Tea  Estate  who  had  died  in
   custody  at  the  Ghilamara  police  station  on  September  8, 1994.
   Holding the police and administrative authorities responsible for the
   violation of the  fundamental  rights  of  the  deceased,  the  court
   ordered that the compensation be paid within six weeks to the family.
   

3  STATE PWD FAILS TO UTILIZE NH FUNDS			   [S:14-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------
   
   Even  though  the  Ministry  of  Surface Transport had sanctioned and
   released Rs.170 million for repair of the national highway No.52 from
   Tezpur to Jowai, the State Government had not completed the  work  in
   the  past  two  years  despite  the matter been continuously pursued,
   Surface Transport Minister Dr Debenrdra Pradhan  told  Assam's  Rajya
   Sabha MP Dr Arun Kumar Sarma in a written reply.
     

4  SIX MEMBER DACOIT GANG NABBED			   [S:14-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------
   
   Paltan Bazar police in Guwahati acted smart and caught a group of six
   dacoits from the house of a prominent businessman, Mr Biswanath  Goel
   at  Bhangagarh  area  of Guwahati early in the morning of June 13, as
   the dacoits, taking advantage of the fact  that  the  members  of  Mr
   Goel's  family  were  still  asleep  and he had been performing puja,
   forcibly entered the  house  and  tied  up  all  the  members  before
   ransacking  the  belongings for about an hour. The neighbours alerted
   the police  which  promptly  arrived  and  caught  the  dacoits.  two
   revolvers  were  seized  from  them.  Police  suspect the group to be
   involved in a number of robberies in the city recently.
   

5  REINCLUSION OF HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY IN SCHOOL	           [S:14-JUN-98]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   Inclusion of Geography and History in the school  curriculum  in  the
   State  is  under  active  consideration  of  the State Government, an
   official release quoted Chief Minister as saying to a  delegation  of
   Shatadal  -- a sociocultural organization -- at Janata Bhawan on June
   13.   He  also  said  that  with  increasing  demands  from   various
   organizations  and  educationists  for  reinclusion  of Geography and
   History in the school curriculum, the State Government would  take  a
   decision on the matter soon, the release added.
   

6  NAMERI UPGRADED TO NATIONAL PARK		           [S:14-JUN-98]
   --------------------------------
   
   Nameri reserve  forest  has  been upgraded to a National Park.  It is
   the third National Park after Kaziranga  and  Manas  national  parks.
   With  25 reserve forests of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji under its
   jurisdiction, the Park now can accommodate a large  number  of  tiger
   population.

7  ONLY PRINT OF SIKKIM IN US ARCHIVE		         [PTI:14-JUN-98]
   ----------------------------------
   
   Satyajit  Ray's  `controversial'  documentary  on Sikkim has no print
   available in India, but one has recently been traced  to  the  United
   States.  A  print of the film on the Chogyal dynasty of the Himalayan
   state which is in bad shape, is at present in  the  Brown  University
   archive near New York, film maestro's son Sandip Ray told PTI. 
   

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
Compiled from newspaper and agency reports for private circulation only.
      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
              http://www.cyberspace.org/~mozz/aol.html  
             http://www.assam.org/assam/news/index.html
________________________________________________________________________