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                          Vol.3, No.43 [*]  June 30, 1998
                          -------------------------------
                         
           The people who make a difference are not the ones with the
                   credentials, but the one with the concern.
                                - Max Lucado

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            Assam Online congratulates Assam Society of America
                       on completion of 25 years.
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1  DEFENCE MINISTER DENIES ASKING MITRA TO MEDIATE        [AT:27-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------------------
   The  Defence  Minister,  Mr  George Fernandes on June 26 added to the
   confusion over Surajit Mitra's killing by clarifying that he had  not
   appointed  the  slain advocate to mediate on behalf of the Government
   with the outlawed  NDFB.    Taken  aback  at  being  indirectly  held
   responsible  for Mitra's killing, Mr Fernandes said that he had never
   met the advocate before until  former  Assam  Home  Minister,  Bhirgu
   Phukan  introduced  him  at the Raj Bhawan at Guwahati, claiming that
   Mitra was close to the Bodo militants and could help  the  Government
   to resolve the Bodo problem.
   
   `As I was running short of time and was on my way to the  airport,  I
   asked the advocate to accompany me on my car so that we could talk on
   the  way', Mr Fernandes disclosed, adding that after the incident the
   advocate never got in touch with him. The defence  minister  who  was
   talking  to  newsmen  informally after a official press conference in
   New Delhi, even called his private secretary before the reporters  to
   prove  that  he  had  met  Mitra for the first time at Raj Bhawan. In
   fact, the Minister at first took some time  to  recollect  who  Mitra
   was, denying reports that he visited Mitra's residence.
   
2  MASS FLAYS FRIENDS OF SANJOY'S ROLE		          [AT:29-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------
   The  Manab  Adhikar  Sangram  Samiti  (MASS) accused the organization
   `Friends of Sanjoy' of patronizing continuation of  armed  forces  in
   the  State  while  at  the  same time trying to use it basically as a
   weapon against the ULFA.  In a press release on June 28  received  in
   Guwahati,  MASS  urged the organization to protest also the violation
   of human rights of so many other persons in the State along with  the
   death of Sanjoy Ghose.
   
   It asked why should the organization focus on Sanjoy Ghose alone when
   rights of other people too were violated and  the  modesty  of  women
   outraged by  the forces of the Government.  MASS, publicity secretary
   Khagen Talukdar appealed to `Friends of Sanjoy' to protest  all  such
   cases  without  discrimination,  instead of confining to Sanjoy Ghose
   only.
   
3  SECURITY BEEFED UP IN GUWAHATI AND MAJULI		   [S:30-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------------
   Security measures in Guwahati city have been geared up in the wake of
   Ms Sumita Ghose's visit  to  the  city  with  50  workers  and  close
   associates of her late husband Sanjoy Ghose, the secretary general of
   AVARD-NE  who  was  kidnapped and later killed by ULFA militants last
   year. Security arrangements at Majuli has also been tightened in view
   of the proposed visit of Ms Ghose. A member of AVARD-NE  has  already
   arrived  at  Majuli. Even as the abduction of Sanjoy Ghose by ULFA is
   going to complete one year on July 4, Ms Ghose does not believe  that
   her husband was killed or dead.
   
4  ULFA KILLS CPI(M) MAN, RELEASES SAIKIA'S DRIVER	   [S:29-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------------------
   Suspected  ULFA  militants on Saturday killed on Kishore Mohan Roy, a
   member of the Bongaigaon unit of Communist Party of India  (Marxist),
   at Bahira  Chengmari  village in Bongaigaon district.  Mohan Roy, who
   was also a leader of Kishan Sabha of the district  was  kidnapped  by
   ULFA  militants on Friday while he was going to the village to attend
   a party meeting.  Roy (45) is survived by his wife and a two-year-old
   child.  The State Unit of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the killing.
   
   Meanwhile,  Tambaiya  Mani  Naidu,  driver of the late Chief Minister
   of Assam Hiteswar Saikia, who was kidnapped by ULFA militants when he
   was in service of late Saikia, was released at Barpeta on June 26. Mr
   Naidu reached Barpeta police station around 7 pm after his release.
   
5  AASU CONDEMNS RASHMI BORA'S KILLING		           [S:28-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------
   The Raidingia regional  unit  of  AASU  has  severely  condemned  the
   abduction  and  murder  of Rashmi Bora, a student of Raidingia Higher
   Secondary School, by the ULFA on June 9.  In a  statement,  the  AASU
   unit  has  demanded immediate detection and punishment to the guilty.
   It may be mentioned  that  the  ULFA  has  owned  responsibility  for
   Rashmi's killing.
   
6  SEARCH WARRANT AGAINST SADIN			          [AT:30-JUN-98]
   ----------------------------
   The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Kamrup issued a  search
   warrant  to  search the printing press of the Guwahati-based Assamese
   weekly `Sadin' with an order to seize the manuscript  of  an  alleged
   defamatory  news item and machine used in printing the news item. The
   Court order came in response to a complaint petition  under  sections
   500, 501 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code filed by the Deputy Director
   General  (NE  Region)  of  the  Doordarshan,  P.K.Singson.  The court
   directed the Chief Editor, Publisher and Printer  of  the  weekly  to
   appear before the court on July 8.
   
   The  complaint  of  Mr  Singson  was  that  the  weekly  attempted at
   tarnishing  his  image  through  a  news  item  `Ki  Gopan  Rahashyat
   Sangeeta-Mridule  Sadinate  Anumodon  Pale  Serial' (What secret deal
   clinched Sangeeta and Mridule's approval of serial  in  seven  days?)
   carried on June 5, 1998 issue, hurling accusations that he along with
   some  of  his  associates swindled the authorities an amount of Rs.20
   million and his son was also involved in a rape case and was  jailed.
   An  Anti-Assamese officer, Mr Singson has been making fortune through
   corrupt practices, the news item said  in  a  defamatory  manner,  Mr
   Singson alleged.
   
7  CABLE THEFT DISABLE 350 TELEPHONE IN GUWAHATI	  [AT:30-JUN-98]
   ---------------------------------------------
   About 350 telephone lines at Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar and Rajgarh area
   of Guwahati city went dead on June 29  after  telephone  cables  were
   stolen by some miscreants from near the Bharalu pool on Rajgarh Road,
   according to  telephone  department  sources.  The affected telephone
   lines are likely to remain dead for at least next seven days.
   
8  STEPS TO PREVENT ROBBERIES IN NIGHT BUSES SOON	  [AT:27-JUN-98]
   ----------------------------------------------
   The Assam Government has decided  to  adopt  stringent  measures  for
   prevention of robberies in the night buses which have risen recently.
   A  meeting among the Transport Minister Mr Pradip Hazarika, Transport
   Commissioner and Home Secretary was held at Guwahati in this  regard.
   A  final  decision  would  be taken in another meeting among the Home
   Department, Transport  Department  and  the  representatives  of  the
   owners of  the  night  buses  on  July 14.  [Armed robberies in night
   service buses along the highways have become a common  phenomenon  in
   recent months. Such crimes are so far not covered in the AOL. - Mozz]
   
9  POST-MORTEM REVEALS POST-POST-MORTEM			   [S:29-JUN-98]
   -----------------------------------
   The  Joysagar police recovered a body whose head and torso were torn,
   from the banks of Dikhow on June 27 and sent it  for  post-mortem  to
   the Sibsagar  civil  hospital.    In the post-mortem, it was revealed
   that the post-mortem  had  already  been  conducted.    Police  later
   discovered  that  an  unclaimed  body  which was found on the railway
   tracks on June 21 was buried on the banks of Dikhow by  the  sweepers
   on June  22, after post-mortem.  However, the Dikhow waters washed it
   away and the police recovered it again on June 26, suspecting  it  to
   be some other's body.  Sibsagar police on June 26 arrested a group of
   dacoits  who  confessed that they had killed one of their colleagues,
   Anna Boro, and left his body on the  railway  track.    Police  again
   buried the body on the banks of the Dikhow.
   
10 KATHA AWARD FOR ARUPA PATANGIYA			   [S:29-JUN-98]
   -------------------------------
   Ms Arupa Patangiya Kalita, a renowned fiction writer in Assamese, has
   been  chosen  for  the  prestigious  `Katha Award 1998' for her short
   story `Daivakir Deen'.  Ms Patangiya Kalita earlier received  Sailesh
   Chandra   Dasgupta   Sahitya  Setu  Award  in  1993  conferred  by  a
   Calcutta-based magazine and Sahitya Parishad  Literary  Award,  1995.
   In 1996, she was chosen for women writer of the year, but she refused
   the award  because  of  its  sex-discrimination basis.  The award was
   conferred by the Axom Xahitya Xabha.  Ms Kalita has, to  her  credit,
   two novels and three short-story collections.  She teaches English at
   Tangla college.
   
11 CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE FELLOWSHIP CONFERRED	          [AT:27-JUN-98]
   -------------------------------------------
   Dr  Ameera  Y Ahmed, MD, was recently conferred the fellowship degree
   on `Critical Care Medicine' by the  Syracuse  University,  New  York.
   She  is  the second postgraduate of the University and the first from
   the Northeast India to be so honoured.   Her  work  with  `hyperbaric
   oxygen'  in critical care was much appreciated by the medical faculty
   of the University.  She is a product of Guwahati Medical College.
   
______________________________[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
________________________________________________________________________