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                         Vol.4, No.17 [*] March 15, 1999
                         -------------------------------

                        He that eats till he is sick 
                         must fast till he is well.
                              - French Proverb
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

1  MINISTERS, TRADERS IN LEAGUE WITH NDFB ?              [S:13-MAR-99]
   ----------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  With the sensational revelations  about  a  close  nexus
   between the proscribed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)
   and senior cabinet ministers, prominent citizens and businessmen of
   Guwahati  city,  from  a  diary  recovered  from  the  slain action
   commander of the outfit B.Nathu, who  was  shot  dead  by  Guwahati
   police  on  March  11, the police are perplexed over how to proceed
   with the investigations.
   
   The cabinet ministers include State  Education  Minister  Thaneswar
   Boro  and  Social  Welfare  Minister  Rekha Rani Das Boro, who were
   served demand notices by the NDFB twice, and the Minister of  State
   for Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes Rajendra Musahary,
   whom the victims were asked to contact.
   
   Police  sources  said that the NDFB, during its recent drive in the
   city,  had  served  about  30  notices  to  some  leading  business
   establishments,   including  Bharali  Brothers,  Khubchand  Stores,
   Goenka Readymades, Mohini Stores etc and individuals, including the
   proprietor of Nandan Hotel, Mr Arun Sharma.
   
   The target fixed by the outfit was Rs.60 million and  they  had  so
   far collected Rs.300,000 from the victims, police said, adding that
   Mr  Devraj  Ojha,  the  husband of former Guwahati city mayor Queen
   Ojha had paid Rs.1,24,000 to the outfit.
   
   The extortion letters typed in English, were signed  by  the  slain
   militant.  However, the name of Rajendra Musahary, whom the victims
   were  asked to contact in connection with the payments, was written
   in hand on the extortion note.  The police are likely  to  pick  up
   some people, whose name figure in the diary, for interrogation.
   
   On the other hand, the police are perplexed over the  violation  of
   the  existing rules and regulations by the Reliance Company Limited
   over the issue of mobile phone connection.  Two SIM cards of mobile
   phone were recovered from the possession of the dead militant.
   
2  UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT CREATES PANIC IN ARUNACHAL      [PTI:12-MAR-99]
   ----------------------------------------------
   ITANAGAR:   Inhabitants  of  Chambang  village  in  Lower Subansiri
   district in Arunachal Pradesh have been living in fear for a  month
   after  three fishermen discovered a 18 inch cylindrical object with
   a copper tip in the Kurung river on February 11.
   
   The object, made of steel bearing the number 10170006 created panic
   among  the  villagers, who feared that it might be a bomb and could
   burst and dared not take it to the district headquarters of Ziro as
   the  village  is  two  days'  walking  distance  from  the  nearest
   motorable road.
   
   The object was also shown to Indian Air Force helicopter pilots who
   make sorties in the area to airdrop rations, but they too could not
   identify it.  The All Chambang Area Students'  Welfare  Association
   has  urged  the state and central government to send experts to the
   area to either defuse it or take it away from the village.
   
3  AHRC REGISTERS CASE ON POLICE EXCESS ON WOMAN         [S:13-MAR-99]
   ---------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) registered a  human
   rights  violation  case  on  the  basis of a complaint of Mr Lachit
   Bordoloi, secretary, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samity (MASS),  a  human
   rights organization.   The MASS alleged that Dhirawati Choudhury, a
   MASS activist became a victim of police excess at Bongaigaon.   She
   was  beaten  up  and  her clothes were torn in public place and was
   sent to jail, an AHRC release  said.    The  AHRC  has  called  for
   reports  from  the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police
   Bongaigaon within 15 days.
                                           
4  POLICE CONSTABLE SUSPENDED FOR DEMANDING MONEY        [S:13-MAR-99]
   ----------------------------------------------
   JORHAT:   Assam  police  constable  T.S.Das  was   suspended   with
   immediate  effect  in  response  to  a public complaint that he had
   beaten up a rickshaw-puller in an inebriated condition  in  Tarajan
   area of Jorhat.  He also openly demanded money from scooterists and
   motorcyclists   while  checking  the  documents  related  to  their
   two-wheelers.   Some  alert  citizens  telephoned  to  the   police
   headquarters  when  the  constable was beating the rickshaw-puller.
   Police made an  on-the-spot  inquiry,  and  on  the  basis  of  the
   findings the constable was suspended.

5  GUWAHATI POLICE HARASSING LABOURERS: DHUBRI MP      [UNI:14-MAR-99]
   ----------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Lok  Sabha  member  Abdul Hamid alleged that daily wage
   labourers, rickshaw-pullers and cart-pullers  belonging  to  Muslim
   community were being harassed by the police in Guwahati city on the
   plea that they were foreign nationals.
   
   In  a  letter  to  the  Assam Chief Minister, Mr Hamid said most of
   these people were from his constituency Dhubri.  He said the people
   were affected by the flood and came to the city in search of  their
   livelihood, and urged the chief minister to take necessary steps to
   stop harassing these poor innocent people.
   
6  RELOCATED VILLAGERS DEMAND COMPENSATION               [S:12-MAR-99]
   ---------------------------------------
   JAMUGURIGHAT:   Following  the  declaration  of the Nameri reserved
   forest as a National Game  Sanctuary,  authorities  have  relocated
   more  than  300 families living in villages of Meherbonti, Rengajan
   and Chapori who were inhabiting in the area for centuries.  Most of
   the families depended on agriculture and cottage dairy.
   
   The  eviction  gave  a severe blow to the 59 cottage dairy (khutis)
   which  practically  led  the  owners  to  abandon   their   age-old
   occupation, and  loss of their means of earning livelihood.  On the
   other hand, it also created a shortage in the supply of milk to the
   urban areas around the villages.
   
   A  public  meeting was held in this connection and the people urged
   the government to pay compensation of  Rs.50,000  to  each  of  the
   evicted family and Rs.100,000 to the dairy owners.
   
7  CORRUPTION AND SINS DRIED THE POND OF FORTUNE       [ANI:14-MAR-99]
   ---------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  All the 12 fountains of the Sobhagya Pukhuri or the pond
   of  fortune  of  Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, believed to have been
   created by Lord Indra, the king of gods in Hindu mythology by using
   his thunderbolt, have dried up.
   
   Located atop Nilachal hill on the south bank of river  Brahmaputra,
   the Kamakhya temple is India's only centre of tantric (mystic) form
   of  Hinduism,  where  thousands of devotees visit every year to pay
   respect to the goddess.
   
   According to the local belief, the priest of the temple are  facing
   wrath  of  goddess  Kamakhya for rampant corruption and sins in the
   society and have cursed the people by drying the pond.  
   
   This is the first time there is no water in the pond.  The pilgrims
   could not perform the rituals properly which requires washing hands
   and feet in the pond before entering the sanctum sanctorum  of  the
   temple.
   
8  TEZPUR UNIVERSITY TO ADMIT STUDENTS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY [S:15-MAR-99]
   -----------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI: The Tezpur University is going to admit students  to  the
   two-year   Master's   Programme  (MSc)  in  Molecular  Biology  and
   Biotechnology to the academic session starting from July this year.
   
   The admission will be made after a national-level entrance test  to
   be  conducted  by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on May
   23.  Application forms can be obtained on  cash  payment  of  Rs.65
   from the office of the registrar, Tezpur University, Napaam campus.
   
9  FIRST ECONOMIC DAILY FROM NE LAUNCHED AT GUWAHATI     [S:12-MAR-99]
   -------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The first economic daily published from  the  Northeast,
   The Oil  Field  Times  was  launched  at Guwahati on March 10.  The
   12-page daily was formally  released  by  the  Axom  Xahitya  Xabha
   president  Chandra  Prasad  Saikia  at  the  Guwahati  Press  Club.

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