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                         Vol.4, No.50 [*] August 6, 1999
                         -------------------------------

                  A political war is one in which everyone 
                           shoots from the lip.
                             - Raymond Moley
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

1  ULFA-BANGLA MILITANT LINKMAN NABBED                    [S:5-AUG-99]
   -----------------------------------
   KARIMGANJ:  Karimganj police on August 3 arrested one  Bilal  Ahmed
   on  charges  of  helping  fundamentalists  outfits of Bangladesh to
   commit sabotage in Assam, and  help  the  ULFA  to  cross  over  to
   Bangladesh and maintain relations with such outfits there.
   
   According to sources, Bilal used to carry out the liaison work from
   a hotel in Guwahati and was in regular touch with top ULFA  leaders
   Arabinda Rajkhowa  and  Paresh  Baruah.  Police said that Bilal was
   arrested  only  after  getting  hard  evidence,  and  a  case   was
   registered against him under section 121 and 121-A of IPC.
   
   Two  senior  police  officials  from  Guwahati  arrived   Karimganj
   immediately after  receipt  of  the  information  of the arrest.  A
   massive operation has already been launched by the  police  to  nab
   the other  anti-national  elements  operating in Barak Valley.  All
   officers-in-charge  of  Barak  Valley  police  stations  have  been
   instructed on how to go about nabbing the anti-national saboteurs.
   
   Bilal  Ahmed  is  said to be closely related to Jamiat leader Abdul
   Haq, with whose blessings the AGP had got sizeable Muslim votes  in
   the 1996  elections.  Reportedly police are cautious not to rub the
   people with clout and authority at Dispur the  wrong  way.    While
   this  could  be  an impediment in the investigations, sources said,
   that the case against Bilal was `very tight'.

2  POLICE PUT ARREST OF ISI AGENTS UNDER WRAPS            [S:4-AUG-99]
   -------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Two of the four arrested ISI agents, who were nabbed  by
   Guwahati  city  police  on  July  31,  are `internationally wanted'
   figures, and the Interpol has been trying to track them down for  a
   long time  for having close contacts with the Taliban militia.  The
   duo has  been  identified  as  Sheikh  Abdul  Mastan  and  Mohammed
   Razibullah.
   
   Intelligence  sources told The Sentinel that sleuths of the Special
   Intelligence  Bureau  (SIB)  and  the  military  intelligence  were
   continuously interrogating   the   four   arrested   agents.    The
   interrogators, particularly of the Army, were trying  to  establish
   the  ISI's  links  with different extremists outfits of the region,
   including the banned ULFA.
   
   However, the police, which claimed to have been maintaining  strict
   vigil  on  the  activities  of the Pakistan ISI and their agents in
   Assam, are now trying to hush up the matter.    Even  the  Director
   General  of  Police  P.V.Sumant  denied  any such arrests, and when
   contacted, told The Sentinel that the police, acting on  suspicion,
   had nabbed four Bangladeshi nationals, and after interrogation, had
   freed them.
   
3  UPPA CHALLENGES MAJ GEN'S REMARK ON MADRASSA SCHOOLS [UNI:3-AUG-99]
   ----------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   United  Peoples  Party  of  Assam  (UPPA),  an alliance
   partner of the ruling AGP, on August 3 challenged the statement  of
   GOC  of  the  21  Mountain Division, Major General B.P.Bopanna that
   some  Madrassa  schools  in  Assam  were  helping  the  growth   of
   separatist forces.  [See AOL of 2-Aug-99]
   
   UPPA president and Assam Irrigation Minister Abdul  Mahim  Mazumder
   told  newsmen  at Guwahati that UPPA will challenge the authorities
   to prove that madrassa (centre of Islamic study) or mosque in Assam
   has ISI agents or engaged in insurgent activities.
   
4  ULFA, BODO MILITANTS HELPING ISI, SAYS ARMY GOC        [S:6-AUG-99]
   -----------------------------------------------
   TEZPUR:  Lt General GOC of 4 Corps.  D.B.Shekatkar on August 5 said
   that  over  100  Pakistani ISI agents had been working in Assam and
   the ULFA and the Bodo extremists  were  actively  helping  them  in
   their anti-India activities. He said so far the ISI agents had been
   more  active  in  Nagaon,  Barpeta,  Dhubri, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia
   districts.
   
   They  use  the  privately  operated public telephone booths to make
   long-distance calls to Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi etc between  9
   pm  and 11 pm, he said, adding that the Army had recovered a letter
   written in English by an ULFA activist to an ISI agent.  He further
   said that over 1,000 ULFA and NDFB ultras had been  taking  shelter
   in Bhutan and were facing acute financial hardship.
   
5  AHRC REGISTER CASE AGAINST BONGAIGAON ADMIN            [S:5-AUG-99]
   -------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The Assam Human Rights Commission  (AHRC)  registered  a
   case on August 4 against the Bongaigaon district administration for
   the alleged death of five refugees at a camp due to starvation, and
   has  ordered the Bongaigaon Deputy Commissioner to inquire into the
   matter and submit his report within September 4.
   
   The commission took up the case acting on a news  report  published
   in a  local  daily.    The news report had stated that the district
   administration  had  failed  to  provide  adequate  ration  to  the
   refugees  of  the  ethnic strife, following which five persons died
   due to starvation and hunger.
   
6  HEALTH MINISTER'S WARNING TO GOVT HOSPITALS            [S:5-AUG-99]
   -------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Necessary  action  will  be  taken  against  the  State
   Government  hospitals  if they are found to be selling medicines to
   patients as sufficient supply of medicines have already  been  made
   to these  hospitals.  This was stated by the Assam Health Minister,
   Dr Kamala Kalita on August 4 at Guwahati Medical College  Hospital.
   He  further said that necessary instructions in this regard besides
   the lists of medicines supplied, had been sent to the hospitals.

7  GOVT REGRETS NEWSPAPER HOUSES' APATHY                  [S:6-AUG-99]
   -------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  After the acceptance of the Bachawat Wage Board award on
   pay  scales of journalists and non-journalists by the Government of
   India with effect from January 1, 1989, the  Assam  Government  had
   requested  the  newspaper  establishments  in  the State to fix pay
   scales accordingly and report the compliance by January 1, 1999.
   
   But according to an official release, of the 113  newspapers  being
   published   in   the  State,  only  Assam  Tribune,  Dainik  Assam,
   Janambhumi and Sentinel group of newspapers have partly revised the
   pay scales in terms  of  the  notification.  The  State  Government
   regretted  the apathy and lack of response from newspaper houses in
   paying the legitimate dues to the employees.
   
8  EVEN MADHURI, SHAHRUKH CANNOT BAIL OUT AGP: NARAH      [S:3-AUG-99]
   -------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) minister, now a Congress
   MLA, Bharat Chandra Narah alleged that the  Assam  Chief  Minister,
   Prafulla Kumar Mahanta broke five of his election promises and thus
   committed breach of trust against the people.
   
   He  said,  `Mahanta  promised  to make the assembly a stage for the
   agitation; to send the Army back to the barracks within 24 hours of
   coming in power; seize the illegal arms within 15 days  of  forming
   the Government and solve the insurgency problem.'
   
   All these remained not done and with its fallen reputation and lack
   of  leaders  inside  the party, the AGP has no chance to revive, Mr
   Narah said, and sarcastically added that why Biju Phukan,  even  if
   Mahanta  hires  Hindi  movie superstars like Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri
   Dixit as candidates they are destined to be defeated miserably.
   
9  SENIOR ULFA LEADER JITENJIT GOGOI DEAD               [PTI:2-AUG-99]
   --------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Senior  ULFA leader Animesh Kakoty alias Jitenjit Gogoi
   died on August  1  after  a  prolonged  illness  at  his  Tingkhang
   residence in  Dibrugarh  district.   Kakoty, who was suffering from
   cancer, was sent home after doctors who treated him at Guwahati and
   in Mumbai gave up all hopes for his survival.

10 ANTI-RAGGING COMMITTEE OF VETERINARY COLLEGE           [S:4-AUG-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  An anti-ragging committee consisting of the students and
   the faculty members of the College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara
   in Guwahati was formed  to  take  up  measures  for  prevention  of
   ragging of  newcomers  in  the  college.  The committee will try to
   promote healthy interaction between the freshers  and  the  seniors
   and   monitor  the  environment  in  the  student  hostels  besides
   monitoring the problems faced by the freshers in the college.

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
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