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                        Vol.3, No.91 [*] December 31, 1998
                        ----------------------------------

              AOL wishes all its readers a Very Happy New Year!
   ------------------------------------------------------------------

1  ONLY FIVE LEADERS DON'T WANT TALKS: BHASKAR           [S:31-DEC-98]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   Besides the five top leaders of the United Front  of  Asom  (ULFA),
   Paresh   Baruah,   commander-in-chief,   Sasha  Chaudhury,  foreign
   secretary,  Raju  Baruah,  commander  of  operation  wing,   Asanta
   Baghphukan  and  Pranati  Deka, both top leaders, most of the other
   leaders and cadres want to return to  the  mainstream  and  lead  a
   normal  life, arrested ULFA central committee leader Bhaskar Baruah
   alias Bhaskar  Mahanta  alias  Nityananda  Mahanta  alias  Rupjyoti
   Mahanta told police in Nagaon.
   
   Bhaskar  Mahanta  who  was arrested from a hotel in Nagaon after he
   alighted from  a  night  super  bus  on  December  25.     Throwing
   considerable  light  on  the luxurious life-styles of the top-wrung
   leaders, Bhaskar told the police that the ultra outfit was spending
   more than Rs.2 million per year on the education of Paresh Baruah's
   son in Canada.
   
   He revealed during interrogation that the ULFA  had  constituted  a
   panel  to  probe  the  murder  of  Rashmi Bora and according to the
   findings it  was  found  that  Rashmi  was  a  victim  of  personal
   vendetta.   Bhaskar,  a  member  of the probe panel, also said that
   Rashmi was not a spy of the Army.    Sixteen-year  old  Rashmi  was
   killed by the ULFA after she was abducted from Nagaon in June.
   
   Bhaskar  also said that Sanjoy Ghose, secretary of the NGO AVARD-NE
   was murdered by local  ULFA  cadres  of  the  Kotaichapori,  Majuli
   without  the  permission  of  the  `high command.' Sanjoy Ghose was
   abducted and killed in July 1997 by the ULFA, while he was  working
   for the uplift of the local people of Majuli.

2  ULFA LEADERS RAJU, SASHA IN GUWAHATI CITY             [S:31-DEC-98]
   -----------------------------------------
   Following  intelligence  reports  that the self-styled commander of
   the military wing and the foreign secretary of  ULFA,  Raju  Baruah
   and Sasha Chaudhury respectively have already sneaked into Guwahati
   along  with  a  large  number of activists of the outfit and a huge
   quantity of modern arms and ammunition and  explosives,  the  State
   Home  Department  directed  the  high-level police officials in all
   districts to intensify security measures.
   
   According  to  intelligence  reports, the two leaders had spent two
   days in the capital city.  It may be mentioned that Paresh  Baruah,
   the  commander-in-chief of ULFA had threatened the ruling Asom Gana
   Parishad (AGP) that it the ongoing `secret killings' in  the  State
   were  not  stopped within a month, that expires on December 31, the
   AGP leaders would face dire consequences.
   

3  HANDING OVER OF KOPILI PROJECT TO NEEPCO FLAYED       [S:29-DEC-98]
   -----------------------------------------------
   
   The Association of Civil Engineers, Assam State  Electricity  Board
   (ASEB)  strongly  opposed  the  proposed  handing  over  of the 150
   megawatt Lower Kopili Hydro Electric Project to the  North  Eastern
   Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).
   
   The project whose investigation, survey and detail  project  report
   was  done  by  ASEB  during the last 15 years, is all set for final
   execution.  `At this point, there is no  justification  in  handing
   over the project to the NEEPCO', the association said.
   
   The  association claimed that a large number of engineers and other
   technical persons working for  the  project  would  become  jobless
   creating liability to the ASEB.
   
   Meanwhile,  the Asom Bidyut Parisad Surakhya Samiti, has called for
   a 24-hour strike from 6 am on December 31 in  protest  against  the
   State  Government's  decision  to  hand over the Bongaigaon Thermal
   Power Station (BTPS) to a US-based company, OGDEN Energy Inc.   The
   organization  stated  that  they  have  been compelled to resort to
   agitation because of the Governmant's `monopolistic  view'  on  the
   issue.
   

4  PRO-BHRIGU AGP MEN, NAGAON XAHITYA XABHA SECY HELD    [S:29-DEC-98]
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   The  secretary  of  Nagaon  Xahitya Xabha, Mr Dipak Bora, who along
   with pro-Bhrigu Kumar  Phukan  of  the  Assam  Gana  Parisad  (AGP)
   leaders of the district, Hiren Bora, Jayanta Bora, Jagat Bhuyan and
   Muruli  Bora  by Nagaon police on December 27 for having links with
   the ULFA, were remanded to  jail  custody  by  the  Chief  Judicial
   Magistrate, Nagoan on December 28.
   

5  ONE ARRESTED FOR RENTING HOUSE TO ALIENS              [S:28-DEC-98]
   ----------------------------------------
   
   Sibsagar police arrested one  Mohammed  Safiqul  Hussain  Borah  of
   Babupatty  in  Sibsagar town under section 14 of Indian Foreigners'
   Act for sheltering Bangladeshi nationals.   Two  Bangladeshis  were
   staying illegally in a rented house of Mr Borah.
   
   The  Bangladeshi  nationals  who  hailed  from Someshpur village in
   Coomilah district of Bangladesh, were arrested by  the  police  and
   sent  to  Mohisason  Passport  Check  Post for deportation to their
   country.
   

6  `TEER' ORGANIZER ABDUCTED BY BODO EXTREMISTS          [S:29-DEC-98]
   --------------------------------------------
   
   The  chief organizer of the betting game of archery, loacally known
   as `teer' at  Khanapara  area  of  Guwahati,  Mr  Samar  Ghosh  was
   abducted  by  unidentified Bodo extremists on December 19 as he was
   returning from the archery field at Khanapara.  The kidnappers  are
   said to be personally know to Mr Ghosh.
   
   The Assam police said that they can do little  about  the  incident
   since  the incident occurred on the neighbouring state of Meghalaya
   bordering Khanapara, and informed their counterparts in  Meghalaya.
   It  is suspected that the abduction may be the fall-out of Mr Ghosh
   severely beating a Bodo youth in Guwahati recently.
   

7  ARMY NOTICE TO DIBRUGARH CLUB TO VACATE LAND          [S:26-DEC-98]
   --------------------------------------------
   
   The  Army  have directed the Dibrugarh Club officials to vacate the
   club premises by December 27, failing  which  they  would  forcibly
   take over  the  land.   The notice signed in November was served to
   the club on December 15.
   
   The  Dibrugarh  Club  is  situated  in Army land on perpetual lease
   since early 1950s.  The club is one of the oldest tennis  clubs  in
   the  region and had enjoyed peaceful and unobstructed possession of
   the land for nearly five decades.
   
   The Army invoking the Public  Premises  (Eviction  of  Unauthorized
   Occupants) Act has concerned the local sporting circle, and were at
   a  loss  to  understand  the motive behind this unusual move by the
   Army.  They said that a number of clubs are allowed to function  in
   the  Fort  Williams area, the Army Eastern Command, in the heart of
   Calcutta city.

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
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