SILCHAR, May 16: Along with Tripura and Karbi Anglong, Jiribam-Jirighat area in the eastern side of Manipur and Assam divided by the river Jiri, is emerging as yet another trouble spot of ethnic cleansing. But while in Tripura and Karbi Anglong, the indigenous tribals are worried about their "identity crisis" despite constitutional safeguard, in Jiribam the motive behind the so-called ethnic cleansing is prompted by a class of people of doubtful citizenship.

Quite interestingly, Meiteis, the original and dominant group in Manipur, are virtually marginalized in this Jiribam subdivision due to the unabated surge of outsiders. The hills, plains and forested areas are swamped by these illegal migrants. And to protect them, the Imphal-based People's United Liberation Front and the Nagaon-born Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam have become active in the area. These two extremist groups are working in tandem with NSCN (IM) and Zomi Revolutionary Army.

The unholy alliance, the Intelligence wings say, besides carrying extortion drives and kidnappings for ransom, has targeted Bengali Hindu settlers, torching their houses and forcing them to desert. In the recent past, around 200 families have to flee and seek shelter in schools. Several Hindus have also been killed.

The motive behind this "terror tactics" is to infuse in these Hindus a sense of panic and insecurity, so that they never come back. And ultimately, the outsiders want to grab their hearths, homes and lands.

Significantly, none of the Manipuri insurgent groups -- PLA, KCP, UNLF, PREPAK and KYKL -- is involved in this operation.

Intelligence agencies monitoring the situation do not rule out the possibility of confrontation between the PULF-MULTA-NSCN (IM)-ZRA combine and the Meitei insurgent groups. Explaining the plausible ground for it, an Intelligence officer said, "It is a question not only of hegemony before the Meitei groups but also of territorial integrity of Manipur." The concept of Nagalim as propounded by the NSCN(IM) includes certain areas of Manipur also.

Paradoxically, the NSCN (IM), despite its ceasefire agreement with the Centre, is violating it outside Nagaland for its territorial ambition.

Mr Biswajit Roy, the president of the North East Young Bengali Association describing the situation in Jiribam-Jirighat zone as "quite alarming", alleged that the militants are also using the area as a corridor for gun-running and drug trafficking.

In identical messages faxed to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of India and the Chief Minister of Manipur, the NEYBA has demanded strengthening of security measures in order to protect the life and property of the Hindu Bengalis, besides setting up outposts to be manned by the Army or CRPF at the hotspots of extremists at Jakurdhar, Chotobekra and Latingkhal.

Guwahati, May 20: It is precisely a law of the jungle. Person who never was, is calling the shots and the people who matter in the State administration here are dancing to the tunes of such persona non-grata of the recent past. Even if one goes to the law seeking redressal against the highhandness of these "licensed ultras", one is not spared from being hurt as the enforcing agencies remain 'biased'.

The Dibrugarh incident, which took the toll of several lives, is a pointer to it. Dibrugarh may repeat itself in any part of the State on any fateful day, and, going by the recent developments, one can very well assume that the Dibrugarh spectre may pounce upon Guwahati any day, any moment in the near future.

For, newspaper offices are flooded with the reports of alleged extortion, land grabbing, usurpation of property and threats at the point of guns now a days. And the finger of accusation in pointed, on most of the occasions, in such cases, to the former members of the banned militant outfits, who have returned to the 'mainstream of the society with the vow to shun violence'!

What causes more consternation is the report that some 'big wigs' in the administration are acting as harbourers of these 'former outlawed militants' whenever police is in hot trail of these worshippers of the cult of violence in connection with their present misdeeds. Reports also have it that cases are there when such 'big wigs' even interfere with the functioning of the police by stooping to such an extent that the custodians of law are even awarded with slaps on their faces for the 'audacity' to arrest 'such innocuous law-abiding' people only on the grounds of issuing threats by placing their unlicensed arms on the temples of some complainants! And the seized arms are also taken away from the police by such big ways who leave the demoralising warnings while making exits with the 'arrested' ones and their illegal arms!

Under such a situation it is quite natural that a young businessman of the city, who is also an indigenous youth is subjected to constant threats from some of the former militants for his 'offence' of moving the authorities and finally the courts complaining that his business partner, a former militant, has usurped the wine shop and petrol pump he started with his said partner as partnership firms.

Every time his telephone rings, this young businessman and his family members now expect a threat to hit their ear drums. "Your bones will even not be available to be produced as evidence, hear you son of ...."!

The businessman approached the police, initially, to resist his partner's bid to usurp the wine shop. Police at the lower level tried to act upon his complaint. But, finally the police had to withdrawn. This led the complaint to move the Court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division) No. 1 here.

On the otherhand, the partner of the businessman also threatened the latter not to try to enter the campus of the petrol pump set up as a partnership firm, allegedly with the help of the former's PSO and some 'armed youths'. Despite the complaint from the aggrieved businessman, no case was registered and the authorities concerned allegedly remained inactive and no step was taken to restrain such illegal acts.

Faced with such a situation the aggrieved businessman approached the Gauhati High Court finally seeking redressal. But the respondent, his partner, informed the court that the aggrieved businessman infact had sold half of the plot of the land on which the petrol pump is situated. To his surprise, the businessman said, he found that a 'forged sale deed' has been executed in his name.

The businessman alleged in his petition to the High Court, "taking advantage of the inaction of the State Government authorities and the respondent authorities" his partner is recklessly indulging in illegal activities and is continuously threatening him (the businessman) of his life, his family members' lives and his property.

Under such circumstances, the businessman prayed for a court order directing the CBI to take over the case from the State police.

Halflong, May 22: Despite the presence of the Army and the paramilitary forces, the NSCN(IM) and the DHD are running a parallel administration in the North Cachar Hills. According to sources, the two terrorist outfits have levied taxes on the government employees, traders, businessmen and common people. The tax rate varies from 10-15 per cent in case of the employees. In case of the contractors and the businessmen, it can be anything based on the volume of business transaction. The common people in the interior villages are made to pay Rs 100 per family, per year.

The Army and police have, however, claimed that they could put an end to the extremists' collection of the taxes. The DIG, Police (South Range) told this correspondent that an amount of Rs 14 lakh had been recovered from the terrorists arrested during the last four months. However, the DHD general secretary Manjit Karighsas said that the collection of taxes ranging from 10-15 per cent by his outfit was still in force. Earlier, the rates were 15, 25 and 30 per cent.

According to sources, the NSCN(IM) and the DHD use to collect their taxes separately. The people in the district are afraid of the Army and the paramilitary forces in one side and the insurgents on the other.

Baghber (Tripura), May 23 (PTI): Sixty-year old Nityananda Debnath is a broken hearted man today as he had lost his two sons and daughter-in-law last Saturday night when a group of armed tribals attacked his village.

'It was about 9 p.m. when we heard the sound of fire from the eastern side of the village. We became alert and when we were sure that they (armed miscreants) were coming to our village we started fleeing towards the western side of the village', Debnath said.

'But they had encircled the entire village and shot dead my two sons and pregnant daughter-in-law before my eyes. I was lying on the paddy field', he broke into tears.

'I have no intention to live as my two bread earning sons are dead and there is no body to look after me'.

At least 21 people were massacred in the village on Saturday night and altogether 44 people died at Baghber and in neighbouring villages since Friday last.

Nirmal Dev, another villager said, ' it was like Jallianwala Bag scene with the armed miscreants encircling the entire village and indiscriminately firing which killed 21 persons on the spot'.

The villagers complained that a CRPF patrol team had patrolled the area some ten minutes before the incident but did not turn up to resist when the ultras attacked the village. They demanded immediate setting up of a camp of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) in the village.

Villagers said armed ultras also blew up two schoolbuildings by hurling grenades.Makhanlal Sarkar (55), whose only son is missing since the attack in the village alleged that the tribal miscreants deliberately attacked Bengali dominated villages in the area to drive out the Bengalis from the locality.

Many villagers here and in neighbouring villages complained that their agricultural produces were being harvested by tribals even as an indefinite curfew remained in force in Teliamura and Kalyanpur Police Station areas.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Pradip Pal who is camping in the area said tension continued to run high at the violence-hit areas but there has been no outbreak of fresh clashes or attacks.

He said 19 tribals, who were involved in looting and setting afire of the houses deserted by people in the wake of ethnic strife, were arrested from different parts of Teliamura and Kalyanpur yesterday.

Khowai (West Tripura), May 25 (UNI): The oppressive stench of bloated carcasses, smouldering huts and wails of women now overwhelm visitors to the villages of Khowai subdivision in carnage-scarred West Tripura.

In a cruel irony, when drought affected people of Gujarat and Rajasthan are crying for food and water, in the ghost villages of Bagber, Uttar Maharani and other adjoining hamlets in this land-locked State, nobody dares to harvest their bounteous fields of paddy and fruits.

"Tribal people backed by militants were harvesting our agricultural produce," says Sukumar Debnath, an inmate of Kalyanpur School relief camp in the area. The rein of terror let loose by the ultras has forced farmers like Sukumar to take shelter in relief camps.

Smoke still billows out of the gutted remains in Bagber village under Kalyanpur police station of West Tripura which witnessed one of the worst ethnic carnages of the State in recent times.

The series of ethnic clashes that continued from Friday till Sunday had claimed 45 lives, mostly non-tribals, in the Kalyanpur and Teliamura police station areas.

Mourning the death of two grandsons and a grand daughter-in-law, octogenarian Kumudini Debnath burst into hysteric bouts of inconsolable cries. Narrating the bloodbath that left her an old orphan, she asks, "What was their fault? What wrong had they done to the killers?"

But Kumudini is not alone in her grief among the inmates of Kalyanpur Higher Secondary School refugee camp. There are scores of others. 75-year-old Niranjan Das is dumb-struck since the slaying of his two grown-up sons and daughters-in-law.

While visitors encounter heart-rending cries of the victims' relatives in the ten refugee camps in Kalyanpur police station areas, the decomposed carcasses of cattle strewn over many places in and around Bagber, Uttar Maharanipur, Pal Parw and North Ghilatali areas bear silent testimony to the human brutality perpetrated on innocents.

Along with 45 men, women and children, about 100 cattle also perished in the three-day-long violence triggered off by the United Bengali Liberation Front of Tripura (UBLFT), formed by the Bengalis to retaliate the tribal guerrillas attacks. UBLFT had killed five tribals and injured 11 by hurling bombs on Saturday morning at Khagendra Colony under Teliamura police station.

Security forces yesterday recovered the mutilated body of nonagenarian Bindu Basini Sarkar from a deserted pond. The slain mother was last seen guarding her only son's body for 48 hours since Saturday. Her son Mohan Sarkar was shot dead by the militants.

Nobody came to help the hapless woman during this period and she had been reported missing since Sunday till her body was recovered.

In a gruesome massacre, at least 25 men, women and children were mowed down by the heavily-armed tribal guerrillas at a refugee camp at Niranjan Sardar Para under Kalyanpur police station on Sunday night.

The violence-affected people took shelter in this relief camp, where the rebels struck taking advantage of the absence of security arrangement.

There was a CRPF camp within a stone's throw of this relief camp, but the CRPF jawans did not come to rescue despite repeated requests of the hapless people, the survivors alleged.

A large number of people are still missing since this massacre. Though there was no fresh violence during the past three days in the trouble-torn Kalyanpur and Teliamura police station areas, security forces recovered many bodies from the Khowai river, paddy fields, ponds and ditches. Mass cremation was also organized by the authorities at Kalyanpur.

Sonaicherri (West Tripura) May 28 (PTI): For Manisha and Vinoy appearing for tomorrow's Madhaymik Examination remains uncertain as they are yet to overcome the trauma of ethnic strife that transformed this sleepy tribal hamlet into a ghost village.

Villagers who lost their kith and kin and whose houses have been reduced to ashes, have been on the run since last Sunday when non-tribals swooped on the village, they told a visiting PTI newsman.

For six nights, homeless and hungry, they sheltered in the jungles till the Army rescued them yesterday and arranged for five examinees to take the Madhyamik Examination beginning in the area tomorrow, Lt Col C S Bhardwaj, in command of the area said.

Lt Col C S Bhardwaj, in command of the area said the Army discovered 93 families taking shelter in small makeshift market sheds at Pramodnagar area of the district with no food or relief, their misery compounded by incessant rains that have been lashing the area for the last three days.

The district administration has been urged to rush relief, the Lt Col said.

Contacted, Additional Superintendent of Police Pradip Pal said the Sonaicherri incident had not been reported to the police and they could not provide casualty figures.

Police however, said the Sonaicherri incident might have been a retaliation of the Baghber killing on May 20 when 22 non-tribals were massacred by a group of suspected insurgents of the outlawed All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF). Four papers of this year's Madhyamik Examinations held in April last in the State had been postponed in the area following ethnic strife, and were being held tomorrow. The Army had made arrangements for five examinees to take the examination.

Last Sunday was a traumatic night for the villagers.

"First a group of people in khaki uniform and armed with automatic weapons came to the village and we thought security forces were patrolling. Behind them a big crowd of non-tribals came to the village and attacked us when the miscreants in uniform opened indiscriminate fire", Manisha Debbarma, a Madhyamik candidate, said.

Her family members, including parents and younger brother, sustained injuries when they were attacked with sharp weapons and are now in hospital.

Another examinee, Vinoy Debbarma, who also sustained bullet injuries in his right hand, said, "they chopped my father, my elder brother's five-year-old daughter and a cousin to death. I could survive because I managed to flee".

Even tribals in remote parts of the area were trapped in their village, unable to visit hospitals or relief camps, Bhardwaj said.

Altogether 101 tribal families are camping in Debtabari JB School. Bhagyalaxmi Debbarma broke down and told this newsman that her husband, Samprai Debbarma, was still missing and she was not sure whether he was alive.

The tribals at the school said a five-member family, headed by Aguan Debbarma, was missing from Kamalnagar village. Bhardwaj said the Army has taken some steps to defuse communal tension and restore normal relations between the tribals and non tribals.

"Today we have called male members of both the communities and in our presence they would return to their village and stay together for the day and may return to camps at night," he said.

Guwahati, May 29: Today, Binita Senapati and her parents are a disillusioned lot, heartbroken at the antipathy which the medical education department showed towards them. The Senapatis' tale began 10 years back when Binita was diagnosed with ostoeomyelitis (a bone-related disease) in her right thigh. While she was recuperating she met with an accident and fractured her right pelvic bone.

But she continued with her studies, completed her matriculation in 1996, and her HS (Science) from Cotton College in 1998. Then began her tale of hardship. She appeared in the MBBS entrance test the same year, but as there were no reserved seats for the disabled in the medical colleges then, she couldn't get admitted. This despite the fact that Section 38 of the Disabilities Act, 1995, has made reservation of 3 per cent of seats for the disabled in all educational institutions mandatory. Her father Jyotinath Senapati filed a civil suit (No. 3461) in the Gauhati High Court praying for extending the provision to the state's medical colleges.

Meanwhile, the state government issued a notification on May 27, 1999, reserving 3 per cent of the medical seats for "people with disability subject to the fulfillment of provisions and terms and conditions as laid down in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995." Senapati lost the case.