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                          Vol.3, No.64 [*] August 28, 1998
                          --------------------------------

                Do not insult a mother alligator until after
                        you have crossed the river.
                             - Haitian Proverb
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  VERNACULAR NEWSPAPER PHOTO TELLS IT ALL	        [S+AT:28-AUG-98]
   ---------------------------------------
   The  bomb  blast at the Guwahati Railway station on August 24 carried
   out by the ULFA brings to light yet another inhuman act -- this  time
   not by  the  militants,  but by the Army.  A front-page photograph of
   the damage caused by the bomb  blast,  carried  by  several  Assamese
   dailies describes  it  all.  It shows a severely injured Atanu Sharma
   in a hapless condition  with  his  hands  tied  behind  his  back  as
   gun-totting Armymen  surrounded  him.   The photograph has shaken the
   psyche of all sections of the people in Assam.
   
   There has been widespread shock  and  condemnation  over  the  Army's
   action of keeping Atanu in that state even after he was badly injured
   in the  bomb  explosion.    The  Army  had  earlier  caught  him as a
   pickpocket and started beating him and tied his hands behind his back
   and kept him at the station platform.  Atanu  Sharma  of  Zoo-Narengi
   Road locality of the city is a young businessman and a life insurance
   agent  working  for  LIC,  had  gone  to  the railway station on that
   fateful evening to inquire about a train timing along with his friend
   when the group of Army caught him as a pickpocket.
   
   Soon after the bomb exploded and splinters burnt the upper portion of
   his body.  As he was writhing in pain, the soldiers continued to beat
   him.   A team of doctors who arrived to take the injured to hospital,
   also wanted to take Atanu Sharma, but the Army did not allow  him  to
   be taken.    After  persuasion  for nearly two hours, he was taken to
   hospital.  The doctors have said, his kidney has become nonfunctional
   because of late treatment.  He is suffering from  55  per  cent  burn
   injury.   As  he  is not in a position to speak it is yet to be known
   exactly in what circumstances his hands were tied up by  the  Armymen
   in the railway station.
   
   Meanwhile,  a  highly-placed  source in the Government Railway Police
   (GRP) informed that investigations conducted by  it  had  established
   that  Atanu  was  subjected to torture by the Armymen just before the
   blast.  It also found that Armymen bashed up personnel of the GRP and
   Railway Protection Force (RPF) when  they  tried  to  rescue  injured
   Atanu, whose  hands were tied.  It may be mentioned that the Army had
   no authority to keep a civilian confined in that manner,  and  should
   have been handed him over to the civilian authorities.
   
   A close relative of the victim has approached the Assam Human  Rights
   Commission  (AHRC) to inquire about the procedure to file a complaint
   of human rights violation against the Armymen involved in the torture
   and putting a injured man's life in peril.  The AHRC informed that  a
   case  will be filed by the family through the State rights panel with
   the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).  Since the AHRC  is  not
   empowered  to take up cases against the Army, it would refer the case
   to the NHRC.
   
   Meanwhile,  the  AHRC  has  recommended  payment  of  compensation of
   Rs.5,000 to Nakul Dutta, a 14-year-old boy, for his illegal detention
   by the State Government.  The Commission in a press release said that
   the petitioner Nakul Dutta was remanded to judicial custody (jail) by
   an executive magistrate by rejecting his personal bond.
   
   [AOL  is  unable  to  provide  the  photograph  on  the  net  due  to
   non-availability of a scanner.  Readers can request other Assam-based
   on-line news providers to put the photograph in the net.  -Mozz]
   
2  ABDUCTED CONTRACTOR'S BODY FOUND			   [S:26-AUG-98]
   --------------------------------
   The dead body of Mr  S.K.Agarwalla,  general  manager  of  Shiv  Vani
   Company,  engaged  by  the  ONGC  for  exploration  of oil at Bahgora
   Deurigaon near Bihpuria in Lakhimpur  district  have  been  recovered
   from a  paddy  field near Bangaligaon on August 25.  Mr Agarwalla was
   abducted by a group of suspected ULFA militants on August  12.    His
   body  was  identified  by an official of the company after police was
   informed by the village headman.  His face was covered with  a  black
   cloth  while  foxes  and crows had devoured the flesh from his chest.
   The body was half buried in the mud.  [Ref. AOL of 17-Aug-98 -Mozz]

3  NINE HELD FOR LINKS WITH MUSLIM MILITANT OUTFITS       [AT:28-AUG-98]
   ------------------------------------------------
   Morigaon police picked up nine persons from different  parts  of  the
   district  for  their  suspected  links  with Muslim militant outfits.
   Police said  that  Joynal  Uddin,  Fakkaruddin  Ali,  Golap  Mustafa,
   Saifuddin   Islam  were  picked  up  from  Melanpur  while  H.Rashid,
   Nizamuddin and Hazarat Ali were picked up from Morabari.   They  were
   arrested  on  the  basis  of  interrogation  reports of the militants
   arrested early this month.

4  THOUSANDS THRONG ARMY RECRUITMENT RALLY		  [AT:25-AUG-98]
   ---------------------------------------
   Braving  a scorching sun, thousands of teenaged boys took part in the
   run to qualify for job of soldiers in the Indian Army  which  held  a
   recruitment  rally  at  the  Nehru  Stadium in Guwahati on August 24.
   About 7,000 boys from Kamrup, Darrang, Nalbari and Barpeta  districts
   thronged the  stadium  vying  for  the 98 posts of soldiers.  Many of
   them had to put up at the platform of the  Guwahati  railway  station
   and  the  stadium  itself  as  they could not afford accommodation in
   hotels or do not have any relatives in the city.

   `You  see, I am the second son of my parents, we have only two bighas
   of paddy field and this is the only source of income for  our  family
   of seven', Ranjit Nath said, asking `Will the ULFA help us survive?',
   when  he  was  asked  if  he  faced any obstruction from the militant
   outfits, which recently asked the people not to  cooperate  with  the
   Indian  Army.  Six  boys  from his village have come to appear in the
   recruitment rally. Sipajhar is one of ULFA  dominated  areas  of  the
   State.  Abject  poverty and a desire to shape the career in their own
   way bought these boys to the Army recruitment rally.
   
5  TRANSPORT STRIKE HITS ROAD LINKS IN SILCHAR		   [S:27-AUG-98]
   -------------------------------------------
   Around 2,500 commercial vehicles in the three  districts  of  Cachar,
   Karimganj  and Hailakandi have been taken off the roads on Tuesday at
   the call of the Commercial Transport Owners'  Coordination  Committee
   in support  of  its  seven-point  charter  of  demands.   The demands
   include repair of badly-damaged urban and rural  roads  and  bridges,
   payment  of  pending bills against requisitions (of their vehicles by
   the Government and Army),  and  checks  on  issue  of  indiscriminate
   permits to vehicles.
   
   The general secretary of the coordination committee, Mr  Poddar  said
   roads  with  innumerable  potholes  and craters throughout the valley
   have become veritable death traps, besides causing immense damages to
   vehicles.  He said that despite repeated reminders and the  ultimatum
   to  the Chief Minister, Transport Minister of Assam as well as to the
   deputy commissioners and district transport  officers  of  the  three
   districts, no remedial actions have been initiated.
   
   Having failed to elicit any response from the authorities, the owners
   had  parked their vehicles on the roads of the three town of Silchar,
   Hailakandi and Karimganj, which would remain there till the committee
   get specific assurance from  the  authorities  concerned  to  redress
   their demands.   Mr Poddar indicated that the operators of trucks and
   night super buses would also join the indefinite strike  which  would
   paralyse  not only the inter-valley but also the interstate transport
   system.
   
6  STATE GOVT EMPLOYEES TO OBSERVE `WORK CULTURE YEAR'	   [S:27-AUG-98]
   --------------------------------------------------
   The  Sadau  Asom  Karmachari  Parishad  (SAKP),  which  has long been
   identified as an organization of State government employees who shirk
   work but will resort to innumerable  agitations  on  the  demand  for
   higher  pay  at  the drop of a hat has, (perhaps in a change of heart
   and) bowing to public criticism, decided to observe  the  forthcoming
   year  as  the  `Year  of  Inculcating  Work  Culture  among the State
   Government Employees.'
   
   In  a  press  release,  SAKP  leaders Charan Deka and Abdul Mannan on
   Wednesday said that the decision was taken at the  recently-concluded
   conference of the SAKP at Tezpur.  They said, the conference mandated
   the  SAKP  to  awaken  and  inform  the  people  about  corruption at
   political and other levels of the administration  and  in  government
   offices,  the manner in which the corruption is committed, and invite
   public complaints on corruption with proof, for follow-up  action  by
   the SAKP with the authorities concerned.
   
7  BA (PART-I) RESULTS `SOLD'				   [S:27-AUG-98]
   -------------------------
   Believe it or not, the results of the Bachelor of Arts (Part-I) exams
   were  sold,  literally,  to  the  candidates  at  Nalbari  after  the
   authorities  of  various  colleges failed to provide the results from
   the Gauhati University. The candidates and  their  guardians  created
   scenes  in the colleges when the message spread that the results were
   available at a book stall for Rs.5. The candidates rushed to the book
   stall and bought the results paying Rs.5 each.
   
8  HRIDYANANDA WINS LAURELS IN WORLD YOUTH PARLIAMENT    [PTI:25-AUG-98]
   --------------------------------------------------
   Hridyananda Kalita  of  Assam  secured  the  first  position  in  the
   prestigious   32nd   World   Youth   Parliament  organized  by  World
   Parliamentary Consortium on August 25 in New Delhi.   Kalita  is  the
   first  Indian  to  secure  the  first position in the meet being held
   since 1965 and was organized in India for the first time this year.
   
   Kalita had also secured the first  position  on  the  symposium  held
   along  with the World Youth Parliament and organized jointly by South
   Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Union Ministry
   for Human Resource Development to commemorate  50  years  of  India's
   Independence.   The  topic  of  the  symposium  was  `Initiative  for
   Development of Indian Subcontinent.'  Kalita  had  also  secured  the
   first  position  in  the  1995  World  Aeromodelling  championship at
   Bangkok.  (He is a resident of South Sarania in Guwahati.  - Mozz)

9  MAMONI ATTENDS INTERNATIONAL MEET ON RAMAYANA	  [AT:27-AUG-98]
   ---------------------------------------------
   Prof Indira Goswami (Mamoni Raisom Goswami), Head of  the  Department
   of Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies, University of Delhi,
   represented  India along with other participants of India at the 15th
   International Ramayana Conference held at Port  of  Spain,  Trinidad,
   West Indies  from  August  1-3.  Distinguished Ramayana scholars from
   other  countries  including  Canada,  USA,  Barbados,  Mexico,  Czech
   Republic, also  attended  the conference.  Prof Goswami presented her
   book, Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra, to the  Prime  Minister  of
   Trinidad and Tobago, Mr Vasu Deva Pandey at the conference.

10 EAST BENGAL WILL NOT TAKE PART IN BORDOLOI TROPHY      [AT:27-AUG-98]
   -------------------------------------------------
   The East Bengal Club of Calcutta has decided not to take part in  the
   Bordoloi  Trophy  football tournament this year which is scheduled to
   get off on October 4.  The East Bengal  club  had  expressed  concern
   over referee's partisan attitude in the prestigious championship, and
   alleged  that  in  1996  final,  referee Tapan Hazarika denied them a
   clean goal.  They also alleged the referee had a `secret  deal'  with
   their  rivals  Mohun Bagan club which enabled them to lift the trophy
   that time.  Mohan Bagan and Mohammedan  Sporting  clubs  of  Calcutta
   however, confirmed  their  participation  in  the  tournament.  Also,
   teams from Japan, South Korea and Dhaka are likely to  take  part  in

11 GOLAGHAT BOY INVITED TO WORLD KARATE MEET	          [AT:27-AUG-98]
   -----------------------------------------
   Pronobjyoti Kolita, a senior instructor of Assam Valley Martial  Arts
   Academy,  recognized by World Karate Association, has been invited to
   participate in the World Karate Championship to be held in October in
   Canada.  He is selected as the deputy instructor of the  participants
   from India.    He  hails from Baruabamungaon near Dergaon in Golaghat
   district.   The  secretary,  Mr  Rituraj  Baruah  has   appealed   to
   Government  and  NGOs  to  offer liberal assistance to the Academy to
   enable Pronobjyoti to attend the world championship.

______________________________[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  
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