RANGAPARA, Oct 18: Atleast three persons were killed and 15 others, including nine policemen seriously injured when police opened fire to disperse an irate mob who gheraoed the Rangapara police station and started throwing stones this afternoon.

Sri Khobir Ahmed, SP, Sonitpur, talking to this correspondent at Rangapara police station said that the unruly mob started pelting stones at the police station and also fired with a revolver which resulted in the injury of Damaru Gayari, platoon commander of 13 Assam Police Battalion. To prevent ransacking of the police station, security personnel fired upon the mob which resulted in the death of Nitai Bardharn (21) Sanjeeb Dey (23) and Mancha Singh (43) on the spot while Bapi Mohinta, Dipu Dey, Amit Kumar Tayal, Puluk Dutta, Gar Bahadur and Sapan Dey sustained bullet injuries.

Sri Ahmed further said that nine police men were injured in the mob attack. The incident occurred when a mob gheraoed the police station demanding action against the miscreants who broke the lock of a Kali temple situated at Rangapara cremation ground and severed the head of the Kali idol on October 16.

An FIR was lodged at the Rangapara police station on Tuesday demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Being dissatisfied the public convened a meeting at the cremation ground this morning where the agitated crowd manhandled Sri Kamaniya Nag, chairman, Rangapara Town Committee for his failure to initiate any action on the desecration of the Kali idol. To protect Sri Nag from the wrath of the public, the police escorted him to the police station where the entire mob from the cremation ground gheraoed the thana and started hurling stones and bricks breaking the window panes and injuring nine police personnel.

However local people informed The Assam Tribune, that police without any prior warning opened indiscriminate fire upon the mob and even denied anybody firing from the mob. A team of scribes who visited the temple saw the broken head and hands of the Kali idol inside the temple premises.

Meanwhile a tense situation prevails at Rangapara and all shops and business establishments including banks and Government offices remained closed in protest against the desecration of the kali idol since today morning. Army personnels are patrolling the streets and additional security forces have been deployed. Senior police officials including DIG, Northern Range Sri KK Nath, Sri Khobir Ahmed, SP, Sonitpur and Sri Tapan Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sonitpur are camping at Rangapara. Till the filing of this report the situation is stated to be under control.

GUWAHATI, Oct 19: Faced with career stagnation and a non-committal administration, several senior officers of the Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) here have left the Council for other organisations and several others have been planning to be on the lookout for other organisations.

The service rule in the organisation has also been awaiting finalisation for the past several years, while due to the alleged administration hassles atmosphere in the Council has deteriorated considerably.

Lots of complaints are also made against the Council's present director for his alleged lack of administrative acumen and concern for the development of the Council.

The officers of the ASTEC are now very much aggrieved with the practice of the State Government of appointing the director and the departmental heads of the Council on deputation. This practice has resulted in most of the administration-related problems for the Council, the officers alleged.

On top of all these, all the four divisions of the Council are now running without any head, the officers alleged.

While the above information speak of the morale of the Council officers today, the Council has started declining in strength and activities during the recent time due to the alleged undue interference of the State Science, Technology and Environment (STE) Department.

For the past two to three years, the STE Department had not released fund to the Council despite there being budget provisions for such fund/funds against the submission of annual plan etc by the Council to the STE Department.

Moreover, the Governing Body (GB) of the Council has not met since 1997. Significantly, the Chief Minister heads the Council GB as its president. The general superintendence, directions and control of the affairs of the Council is vested with the Council GB.

The Council officers also alleged that all the norms for appointing the Council Director were also thrown into the wind at the time of appointing the present Director.

The Commissioner of the STE Department simply published an advertisement for the post of the Director fixing 57 years as the maximum age limit for eligibility, without precisely mentioning the required qualifications for the post.

It is worthmentioning here that the ASTEC is still rated as one of the best science and technology (S&T) councils of the country. Its energy division was rewarded with a national prize for popularising non conventional energy gadgets in the State by the Union Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources.

Its Remote Sensing Centre is also highly acclaimed by the Space Application Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The S&T Division of the ASTEC also received high commendation for its science and societal schemes and other location-specific research and development (R&D) projects. This Division of the Council has also set up, jointly with Cotton College Physics Department, a radio-telescope, which is the only one of its kind in the NE region.

The Council, set up in 1986-87 with the object to formulate policies, schemes and implement them in the various fields of science, technology, environment and remote sensing relevant to the State and the country, besides promoting R&D in S&T and academic institutions of the State, has its Environment Division preparing an environment atlas of the State.

This atlas is one of the pioneering environment-related works in the country, while the Bio-resource Centre of the Division at Madan Kamdev near the city, is a unique project in the NE region.

The Council has also 28 school science centres in the rural areas of the State for taking S&T down to the grass root level and for improving school-level science education.

It has also an Instrument Development and Service Centre to improve the condition of degree-level science laboratories in State's colleges. One system developed by this Centre has also been procured by the Guwahati IIT.

The sinister plan of the insurgent outfits in the North-east spawned by the NSCN(I-M), to create a safe corridor from Nagaland to Bangladesh via the Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts of Assam and the State of Meghalaya to facilitate the easy transportation of arms and ammunition from Bangladesh, is indeed most disturbing, and calls for urgent steps to thwart such plans. According to Mr P.N.Ramakrishnan, Inspector General of the CRPF, North-eastern Zone, the strategy of the NSCN(I-M)-backed militants is to promote Shillong as the operational headquarters, and to that end, they have set up camps and hide-outs in and around Shillong, where they exchange consignments of arms and ammunition brought through Bangladesh. They have also stepped up their activities considerably in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. What is worse, currently three local insurgent outfits of Meghalaya, namely the HNLC, ANVC and MPLF, are acting as the conduits of these militant outfits from the neighbouring States. As a result, one of the north-eastern States that has so far remained free of insurgency, is now threatened with the outbreak of full-fledged militancy, since the HNLC and the ANVC (the more active of the three) are in league with the NSCN(I-M)-ULFA-NDFB combine, and are being trained and armed by it as a quid pro quo for providing the combine the requisite logistic support.

If anything, this can well turn out to be a case of insurgency for the sake of insurgency -- the typical criminal terrorism scenario -- in Meghalaya, considering that the militant outfits of the State have not yet raised the demand for the independence of Meghalaya from the Indian Union. This assessment (of the militants of Meghalaya taking to insurgency for the sake of insurgency) would be borne out by the fact that the militant outfits of Meghalaya comprise the lumpen elements drawn from the rural and urban poor, and that they have already been indulging in anti-social and criminal activities (mainly extortion), and obviously wish to be trained and armed so as to be able to extend their criminal activities to higher levels of extortion, kidnapping for ransom and forcible exclusion of anyone but themselves from all lucrative avenues of 'business' activities and contracts through threats reinforced by the possession of arms. The citizenry can thus be terrorized into quiet submission. And since there are no avenues of worthwhile employment for them, they believe that they can rationalize extortion as an inevitable surrogate for a means of livelihood. There is no need even to pretend that they have any altruistic objectives for the people of Meghalaya. And the only investment needed for the kind of criminal terrorism that such militancy leads to is some risk that is minimized by the superior firepower, physical fitness and training that the militant generally has compared to the security forces.

SHILLONG, Oct 20: Believe it or not, in today's age of instant communication, a letter posted in Guwahati virtually crawled to Shillong after 47 long years! Ironically, the letter addressed to non other than Syed Sadulla, ex-Premier Shillong, (late Sir Sadullah, former Chief Minister of undivided Assam) was delivered last week to Sri Sayeedullah Nongrum, MLA at his Oxford residence here apparently out of mistaken identity. The postal envelope embossed with two 'Annas' postage and 'express delivery' typed on it was sent by one Naziruddin Ahmed of Sadulla Road, 'Gauhati' (as spelt then). Though the cancellation seal in Guwahati is illegible, the post mark of the destination Shillong along with the date 7 Aug 53 is clearly stamped on the envelope. This clearly establishes that the letter was lying in 'cold storage' in Shillong for the last 47 years and two months.

BAIHATA CHARIALI, Oct 20: Investigations made into the severe allegations, by the seven organizations, revealed startling records of large-scale absenteeism of doctors in the 30-bed Bezera Hospital, under Kamlpur Revenue Circle of Guwahati subdivision. Mysteriously enough, the Health Department of the State Government has remained blind to such gross irregularities for years together.

The organizations like Pratyush (a socio-cultural organization); Bezera Anchalika, Asom Gana Parishad; Barbansha Mouza Anchalik Unemployed Youths' Association; Bezera Kendriya Yubak Sangh; Bezera Byabashayee Santha; Salamara and Sudra-Saraighat villages and the people of greater Bezera locality lodged complaints against all the five doctors of the hospital to the DC, Kamrup through the SDC Kamalpur alleging their unrestricted absence from duties depriving the people of proper medical services.

Following the complaints, the SDC, Kamalpur made a sudden visit to the hospital on October 11 at 12.30 p.m., and found that none of the five doctors were present. Reportedly two doctors came on that day and after staying for about an hour, came back home in Guwahati. On October 14, the SDC again visited the hospital and that day too, found none of the doctors present in their duties.

According to hospital sources, one out of the five doctors somes in a day, stay, for about half an hour and then leaves for home. The most pertinent thing in this connection is that none of the doctors either put up their residences in Hospital quarter (official residence) or within headquarters jurisdiction.

On verification of the daily attendance register by the SDC, a very startling data of attendance of the doctors have been revealed. For 270 working days ( 9 months) in a calendar year, (for the doctors have completed nine months till now, since January 2000 to September 2000) the attendance of the doctors as per the attendance register are as follows: Dr Bidyawati Das, Deputy Superintendent of the Hospital -- January to March - nil, April-1, May-5, June-8, July-6, August-3 and September-3 -- total 26 days only. In the preceding year (1999), she was present for only 54 days. Dr Minakshi Bardoloi -- 9, 6, 8, 9, 8, 8, 6, 7 and 12 days from January to September respectively, totalling 73 days. Dr A Dhing -- 11, 13, 9, 13, 13, 11, 12, 13 and 11 days from January to September respectively, totalling 106 days. Dr Uday Sankar Medhi -- 10, 14, 14, 11, 3, 3, 11, 7 and 12 days from January to September respectively, totalling 85 days. Dr Manik Boruah -- 12, 16, 11, 16, 13, 9, 12, 13 and nil from January to September respectively, totalling only 102 days!

JORHAT, Oct 21: In a major breakthrough, the Jorhat police today busted a communication network cell-cum-hideout of the banned ULFA from a house near the Tarajan culvert at the AT Road here. The house was sold only on February last by Smt Mamoni Khound Barua of Dibrugarh for Rs 4.50 lakh to one Ranjan Hazarika of Naharkatia. Two 'caretakers' namely Gojen Das and Jayanta Bora along with the present owner have been picked up for interrogation by the police. Even as several ULFA-related documents and letters written by militant cadres were recovered from the house, a Tata Sumo along with a truck are reported to have frequented the house occasionally at the dead of night according to inquisitive neighbours. Documents recovered so far are a pointer to the fact that recently-slain top ULFA ultras like Prabir Kalita, Pankaj Konwar and Diganta Saikia alias Bhargav Dutta alias Dulu Dutta operated from the house and used it as a transit camp-cum-hideout for their exploits.

SHILLONG, Oct 21: Rape and molestation are the most common crimes committed by soldiers in troubled north-eastern States and Jammu and Kashmir.

This is based on statistics of court martial for various crimes and rights violations by soldiers provided by the Army itself.

With the Army slowly opening up to public scrutiny and criticism over its lack of transparency, it has disclosed that the Army has during the last one decade gone into 1,426 complaints.

Following completion of investigation, 124 soldiers posted in the North Eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir have been meted out punishment over the past eleven years.

There has been as many as 14 cases of rape and molestation by jawans in the North East and another 11 in J & K. There has been one case of murder as well in the North East.

More than fifty soldiers and officers posted in the North East were awarded punishments by court martials. One soldier has been given death sentence, one life imprisonment, three simply dismissed. The services of two officers and four jawans were terminated. Another 17 soldiers were dismissed from service. Twenty-four more men including 12 officers were handed other forms of punishment.

In J & K, 61 soldiers including 22 officers were punished between 1990 and 2000 (upto October 5). One officer and 14 jawans have been dismissed from service with eight to 12years rigorous imprisonment (RI). Another batch of three officers and ten jawans were also dismissed with RI ranging from one to eight years.

GUWAHATI, Oct 20: Terror stricken Government officials posted in insurgent-infested North Cachar Hill district of the State are operating out of their briefcase affecting all development work in the district much to the dismay of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC).

This was revealed by the Rajya Sabha MP from the State and the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the NC Hills Autonomous Council, Prakanta Warisa. Talking to The Assam Tribune here, he said most of the time Government officials preferred to stay away from their place of posting in the hill district out of fear for gun-toting ultras.

"No well-equipped construction company is willing to take up work in NC Hills today because of the problem of militancy. As a result, works are being done by construction firms sans specialisation," he said.

During the last seven to eight year many people were killed, many injured by extremists in NC Hills especially by Dima Halong Daugah (DHD) outfit, still both the State Government and the Centre were yet to sit up and take notice of the gravity of the problem, the Rajya Sabha member lamented.

"Every time I raise demand for special steps from the Government of India to find solution to militancy problem in the hill district in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Home Affairs gives the same reply -- situation is under control," he said adding that such indifferent attitude from the Centre would not help solve the lingering problem.

Over the years the DHD militants targeted top Government officials like the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police in the hill district, still the Government did not recognise the outfit as a major threat, Sri Warisa alleged.

"But for the people living in NC Hills, DHD is the major threat given that development of force is not upto the desired level in the violence-hit district. The outfit has hardly spared anyone in the district while extorting money," he added.

When pointed out that the Army is in operation in the district, the CEM commented that deployment of the Army had not helped much as it did not take the Council and the local people into confidence while tackling ultras. As a result many innocent people had been victims in the counter insurgency operation there, he said.

According to him solution to the problem lied in political initiative of part of the Government to back up the Army operation.

The Rajya Sabha MP is not at all satisfied with the way the district administration has been acting in response to the challenge posed by the ultras. "When top officials of the district come under attack from ultras, you can imagine how insecure the common people of the district are today. In view of the situation, we demand that the law and order affairs should be handed over to the NC Hills Autonmous Council and a memorandum in this regard has been submitted to the Government," Sri Warisa informed.

The NC Hills Autonomous Council recently adopted a resolution demanding control over the law and order affairs in the hill district. As per the resolution, the Council seeks Government's approval of its intention to form village defence committees especially in remote areas of the district to enable people to guard against the threat from the militants and anti-social elements.

Warisa claimed that in the wake of increased activities of insurgents the Executive Members of the Council had been trying to mobilise people against the ultras by visiting different remote areas of the district. In doing so the Council members have now become targets of militants. "The executive members are now demanding security to their life and the Council has requested the Government to provide them with personal security officers," he informed.

ITANAGAR, Oct 20: A lone crusader against trapping of protected game in a wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh has reduced poaching drastically by reforming tribals into protecting the fauna.

Only three cases of poaching was reported in the one and a half years since the Divisional Forest Officer and in-charge of the 826-sq km Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary, Chukhu Loma, took over.

Barking deer, hornbills, water and migratory birds were the main targets of the tribal poachers, who hunted them for food, Loma told PTI at the sanctuary, notified as a Tiger Project by the Centre, in East Kameng district. "These simple people basically hunted the animals and birds for food and not for gain. Neither did they know what they were doing was illegal, let alone that their acts were punishable under the Wildlife Act," Loma said.

An average of 10 to 15 cases of poaching were reported annually earlier. With the help of government officials, NGOs, the hunters were tutored on the need for preserving the wildlife of the sanctuary, home to Royal Bengal tigers, elephants, Indian gaur, clouded leopards and endangered species of birds, including white winged wood duck and four species of hornbills -- great pied hornbill, pied horn bill, wreathed horn bill and rufous necked hornbills. According to the 1993 animal census there were more than 500 hornbills, 40 Royal Bengal tigers and 527 elephants.

GOALPARA, Oct 22: After failing to collect "goonda tax" from the fishermen at Balbala Bazar near here, armed SULFA activists resorted to indiscriminate firing leading to the death of one and injury to eight other fishermen on October 16. According to information available, a group of armed SULFA men arrived in a Maruti Gypsy on the day of the incident at about 7 a.m. at Balbala Bazar and demanded 25 per cent "revenue" on sale of fish from the fishermen. The SULFA men claimed that the Urpad beel near Balbala had been leased out to them, and that as such the fishermen must pay the said revenue. The fishermen who had been deriving benefit from the beel for the last three decades to somehow earn their livelihood, expressed their inability to concede to the demand, and doubted some clandestine deals. Failing to produce documents of the lease, the SULFA men started a fight with them and later resorted to indiscriminate shooting while returning from the spot. This led to the on-the-spot death of one Hazarat Ali (30) and bullet injury to eight others, all belonging to the adjacent Chandamari village. The injured were hospitalised. Later, police arrested six SULFA men in this connection.

GUWAHATI, Oct 22: The Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) in Assam is likely to die an unnatural death since the Centre has curtailed substantial funds earmarked for the scheme in view of the non-holding of panchayat elections, and the 11th Finance Commission having expressed its reservations about allocating more funds under it to the State. According to official sources here, the Centre has held up around Rs 12 crore awarded by the Tenth Finance Commission for the second instalment during 1999-2000 for the scheme, which was conceived to provide employment opportunities to rural youths during the non-agricultural season. It is implemented by the DRDA.

Sources said, the failure of the State Government to hold the panchayat elections and the non-implementation of various suggestions put forth by the State Finance Commission in the matter of efficient disbursal of funds etc., under the EAS by the Rural Development department, has compelled the Centre to withhold the funds for the EAS. However, the Centre has released the first instalment for the current year under the scheme. But it is doubtful if the funds under the second instalment would be released, sources said, expressing fears that the Centre might altogether stop releasing the funds if they are not utilized properly. Under the scheme, a youth is given 100 mandays of work while the State DRDA has provided only 55 mandays in the past four/five years.

NAGAON, Oct 22: The Sentinel, which had published news items on the gross violation of rules and regulations by the Prime Ministerfs Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) beneficiaries in Nagaon district and the Nagaon DIC on June 20 and July 19, and for which the United Bank of India (UBI) and the UCO Bank had had to reject all the PMRY proposals forwarded by the Nagaon DIC during the fiscal 1999-2000, once again highlighted the malfunctioning in the DIC. According to the UBI regional branch at Nagaon as many as five beneficiaries of bank loans under the STFL and the PMRY, and whose names had been forwarded by the Nagaon DIC, joined Government jobs leaving the bank-financed schemes and without repaying the loan amounts. According to the policy guidelines of the Government, if any beneficiary wants to join any Government job, he/she has to repay the whole liabilities to the bank and must inform the concerned DIC before joining the job. What is more surprising is that the Nagaon DIC authority was not aware of the fact that five of bank loan beneficiaries, whose names had been forwarded by him, have already joined Government jobs without repaying the loan amounts. The names and addresses of the beneficiaries, the status of their DIC loans, and their new appointments are given below.

Details of DIC beneficiaries who were appointed in Govt Services.

Source: UBI, Regional Office, Nagaon

The coordination between the loan beneficiaries and the DIC authority is a must for the future course of action after the release of the loans. But what is actually happening in Nagaon is that neither the loan beneficiaries want to take advice from the DIC office nor the DIC authorities bother to make frequent visits to the entrepreneurs set up by the loan beneficiaries.

TINSUKIA, Oct 23: A seven-man gang of motorcycle-borne militants gunned down as many as 11 persons at No. 4 Kokajan village under Doomdooma police station in Tinsukia district at around 6.30 p.m. yesterday. Three other persons also sustained serious injuries in the militants' attack. They have been admitted to the Assam Medical College Hospital at Dibrugarh. The killed were identified as Keshab Prasad Kanu, Paresh Kanu, Shankar Kanu, Subash Gupta, Raju Gupta, Parshuram Prasad, Sheikh Hazarat, Sheikh Mustaq, Dilip Singh, Manoj Singh and Binoy Kanu. Binoy Kanu died on way to the hospital. The injured are -- Krishna Gupta, Md Ashraf Ali and Rajendra Prasad. The tragic incident occurred just 90 minutes after the killing of as many as five persons including a three-year-old boy by three armed youths at Naharkholia Bazar under Bordubi police station in Dibrugarh district yesterday.

According to reports, the motorcycle-borne militants had come to the village and called a grocer Paresh Kanu, the owner of a bicycle repairing shop, a tea stall owner, some pedestrians, and sent one of them to call teacher Subash Gupta and his son Raju Gupta from their house. When Subash Gupta and Raju Gupta arrived at the spot, the militants made them to kneel down in a queue and started indiscriminate firing killing ten of them on the spot and injuring four others. Of the four injured, one Binoy Kanu died on way to the hospital. After the killing, the militants set afire the shop and the house of Paresh Kanu and fled the scene. The wife of Paresh Kanu was not at her residence at the time of the incident. Her two daughters, however, managed to escape.

The police suspects the involvement of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in the killing. Though the exact reason behind the killing is yet to be ascertained, the police suspects that the militants might suspect the victims as Army informers.

Our Staff Correspondent from Dibrugarh adds: While one of the three undergoing treatment at the AMC here was shot at in the throat and the bullet passed through the nape, the other two received bullet injuries in the chest and the belly. It is suspected that yesterday's killing is a retaliatory action by the ULFA after the recent killings of some ULFA cadres at Guwahati and Guguloni in Naharkotia.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the five, who had been killed at Naharkholia yesterday, were handed over their family members after the post-mortem today. The traders of Naharkholia Bazar observed a bandh today in protest against the killing. The bandh was total.

GUWAHATI, Oct 24: The King of Bhutan, Zigme Singhye Wangchuk has cautioned the people of Bhutan against the serious implications of military action against the ULFA and Bodo militants holed up in the country. The King reminded the people that if Bhutan had to send its armed forces to remove the militants, it would mean fighting a war which would result in very serious consequences, the Kuensel, Bhutan's national newspaper reported in its latest issue, a copy of which was received here today.

The King made these observations during a meeting of the representatives of the people of Trongsa dzongkhag (district) to review the eighth Plan implementation. The King said, if the Royal Army were to initiate military action against the Assam militants, the Bhutanese people will have to face grave consequences which they had never faced before. There would be many casualties among the three branches of the armed forces and many other loss of Bhutanese lives. Bhutanese people and vehicles would not be able to travel through Assam and there was every possibility of the militants carrying out terrorist attacks inside Bhutan, the King told a select gathering of gups, chimis, representatives of business communities, sectoral heads of Trongsa and officials from Thimphu who also attended the meeting, the Kuensel reported.

The newspaper reported that the continued presence of the ULFA and Bodo militants in the country is seen as one of the most serious security threats facing Bhutan. The issue had been discussed at length during dzongkhag meetings and in the past five sessions of the National Assembly.

The 78th session of the National Assembly this year, passed a decision to follow a four-point course of action to resolve the problem: (i) cut off ration supplies to the camps of the militants, (ii) punish all persons found helping the militants by invoking the National Security Act and (iii) pursue the process of dialogue with the militants to make them leave peacefully. If all these efforts were to fail, then (iv) military action would have to be taken as a last resort to remove the militants from the country, the Kuensel said.

The militants had entered Bhutan in 1992 following Army operations against them in Assam. For about two to three years, the Royal Government was not even aware of their presence. By the time their presence came to light, they had established camps and their number had began to increase, the Kuensel said.

The Bhutanese Home Minister, Lynpo Thinley Gyamtsho, who was also present in the Trongsa meeting, said that despite two rounds of talks with the ULFA leaders and one round with the NDFB, there had been no concrete results. Mr Gyamtsho said, if the militants refuse to leave Bhutan despite efforts for a peaceful resolution, then Bhutan would be left with no option other than military action as authorized by the National Assembly.

MORIGAON, Oct 25: Believe it or not, there are some Government officers in Morigaon district, whose officers draw their monthly salaries just attending a day or two's duties in a month in their offices.

How they (the officers) maintain their attendence register is best known to them, but fact remains that the public in general find those offices under lock and key, even during official days. The Cultural Officer's office, located at Jagiroad, did nothing even in the official days. The Cultural Officer, Jagiroad (Morigaon district) who performed official duties from his residence at Guwahati even did not respond to district administration's call even while at the Government's special duty. The another office located at Morigaon town is the office of the Soil Conservation. This office remains closed for four days every week. Now the pertinent question is that why does the Assam Government regularly pay monthly salaries to some offices from its exchequer for their lack of work performance? Why cannot the State Government make is compulsory that Government officers must stay at their offices during official hours? Perhaps, only in Morigaon district of Assam where as many as 14 heads of the offices of State Government, two Additional Deputy Commissioners, two Extra Assistant Commissioners, several Executive Engineers of different departments, two Project Directors of DRDA, ITDP, Project-Coordinator DPEP, senior Planning officer, treasury officer etc. regulated their Government alloted work, staying at their residences at Guwahati. What a bizarre administration is going on here, as the officers shamelessly leave the district headquarter frequently without permission of the Deputy Commissioner of the district and that too at the expenses of the Government fuel, conveyance, etc.

Why cannot the Deputy Commissioner make it compulsory to these Government officers that they must stay at their Government duty places even in the holidays, as because they are meant for the service and welfare of the people and are not the masters of the people, in a democratic country, and the salaries of holidays are also duly paid to these officers by the Government.

IMPHAL, Oct 26: The direct interference of the United Front Ministry, led by Chief Minister Wahengbam Nipamacha, into the administration of Manipur University, has seriously hampered the educational activities and smooth functioning of the University. Despite the fact that an Act was amended to give more "autonomy" to the only university in the State during Chief Minister RK Dorendro's regime, the present ministry was treating Manipur University as if it was a grant-in-aid type of institution. As a result, the teachers of this university went on an indefinite ceasefire strike from October 11 in the interest of more than 2,000 university students as well as for the future of other students studying in 80 different government institutions including RIMS and Law colleges.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the general secretary of the Manipur University Teachers' Association (MUTA), Dr Th Ratankumar expressed serious concern over the government's apathy. Senior members of the MUTA also expressed apprehension that the helpless authority of the varsity might surrender the autonomy of the "Taibang-Maheikol" (Manipur University) to the existing United Front Ministry. While highlighting the charter of demands of the teachers which include increasing the superannuation age of teachers from 62 to 60 years, MUTA's president, Prof M Iboton demanded transparency in the financial matters of the university.

Expressing unhappiness over the authority's inaction headed by the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor, general secretary of the association, Dr Ratankumar said "MUTA was compelled to resume the indefinite ceasework strike after meticulous deliberations," adding that if the authority failed to take necessary steps, the teachers had also decided to continue further course of action without delay. As the teachers of the MU numbering about 144 went on strike, normal functioning of the university has been severely affected. The university wore a desolate look. Pointing out the grievances, the president of MUTA, Prof Iboton demanded immediate implementation of 9th plan by appointing the existing vacant posts in different faculties of the university. At present there are 69 vacant in different faculties.

GUWAHATI, Oct 27: Altogether 12 persons including three policemen were killed in two separate incidents in Nalbari district during the last 24 hours.

Nine persons were killed and at least 12 injured when militants opened indiscriminate fire near Hari Mandir in the heart of Nalbari town around 6.30 pm this evening.

Sources here informed that a group of militants coming in a Tata Sumo vehicle opened fire from both side of the running vehicle from AK-47 assault rifles.

Six persons were killed on the spot and three others injured persons died in the hospital later. About 12 persons including women were injured in the militant attack. The Tata Sumo carrying the culprits sped away towards Debiram High School side after letting loose a reign of terror in the area.

Police suspected involvement of banned ULFA militants in the incident. Large number of AK-47 rifles cartridges were recovered from the area which is located at the main market area on Nalbari town.

Police recovered a number of handbills of Assam Tiger Force. The innocent victims of the dastardly killings by the ultras belong to Marwari and Bihari communities. Details of the incident are still awaited.

Six of the nine killed were identified as Biswanath Bajaj (55), Dharamchand Jain (51), Lakshmi Narayan Bajaj (52), Smt Godavari Bajaj (45), Sawarlal Sharma (50), Joy Kumar Jain (52).

Five of the injured were identified as Indor Singh, Dinanath Rai, Smt Godavari Bajaj, Umang Bajaj (Minor) and Nandan Jain.

The Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta called an emergent meeting of the top police officials of the state to take stock of the law and order situation in the State following this evenings incident at Nalbari town.

The Director General of the Police was directed to rush to Nalbari to oversee operation there in the wake of gruesome killings, official sources here informed.

The Chief Minister also declared ex-gratia payment of Rupees one lakh each to the next of the kin of slain persons and Rs 20,000 each for those injured in the incident.

Our Nalbari Correspondent adds: Earlier three police personnel including a Sub-Inspector were killed in an ambush by National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) militants at Ananda Bazar village under Tamulpur police station last night.

The slain policemen were identified as Sub-Inspector Karna Ram Barman, in-charge of Barkajuli police outpost, constables Insan Ali and Boloram Boro of Assam Police task force.

Police sources here informed that a group of well equipped NDFB militants fired upon a 12-member group of policemen from Barkajuli outpost who were on duty at a local Kali puja pandel.

Two of the policemen Karna Ram Barman and Insan Ali were killed on the spot when militants fired from AK-47 rifles. Seriously injured constable Boloram Boro later died in Guwahati Medical College Hospital here.

Although the police team retaliated the militants managed to flee under cover of darkness.

Meanwhile, high-level police officials today visited the incident site to take stock of the situation. Combing operation was launched to track down the militants involved in the killing.

Bodies of the slain policemen were brought to Nalbari Police Reserve where policemen paid the last respect to their colleagues today.

Our Chabua Correspondent adds: A hardcore ULFA militant was killed in an encounter with the police at Chetia Pathar about four kilometre from Chabua at around 3.20 am.

The killed militant was identified as Dharmindra Changmai alias Mithu Baruah from Boruahola Balijan gaon under Panitola police station. Police recovered one revolver and five live cartridges from the possession of the militant.

Sources informed that the militant was a self-styled sergeant major of the 28th battalion of the banned ULFA. He joined the outfit in 1990.

It was informed that acting on a tip-off a joint team of Dibrugarh and Chabua police laid ambush at Chetia Pathar. Four suspected militants were noticed by the police team travelling towards Tengakhat on two bi-cycles. When signalling to stop the militants opened fire on the police team and in the ensuing retaliation by the police one militant as killed on the spot while his accomplices gave the police a slip.

Our staff reporter adds: Suspected Bodo militants shot dead a member of the People's Democratic Front (PDF) -- Anil Sargiary near Golagaon village in Barpeta district last night.

According to official sources a group of militants equipped with AK-47 rifles fired at Sargiary near the village killing him on the spot. Sargiary was a senior member of the PDF, Bajali district committee.

In a separate incident a central committee member of the party Matindra Doimary was seriously injured when suspected militants sprayed bullets on him near Barpeta yesterday. He was later admitted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

SHILLONG, Oct 27: The Guwahati-Shillong national highway has become a paradise for well-organised and armedgangs of extortionists who have turned it into a lucrative business by fleecing truckers under the very nose of the police and civil administration.

'Both the Assam and Meghalaya Governments are patronising the extortionists, otherwise how is it possible that the extortionists many of them SULFA members are openly carrying on their nefarious business of extortion'asks the coordination committee of the Hynniewtrep Truck-owners and Drivers' Association and Jaintia Hills Truck Owners Association.

'Every trucker have to shell our between Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 per trip to Guwahati at check-gates at Jorabat, Khanapara and Beltola to the extortionists,' alleged Sri Sony Khyriem, convener of the coordination committee.

'We have drawn the attention of the chief ministers of both the states to the on-going extortion of truckers but unfortunately both have remained silent on the issue,' he also charged.

He explained that daily 1000 truck-owners are extorted at three check-gates in Assam. While majority of the trucks numbering about 700 carry coal, all trucks carrying merchandise also fall victims. The extortion begins at Jorabat wherethe truckersnave to pay Rs 350. Again, at the Khanapara Municipal check-gate, each truck is made to pay Rs 350 though a receipt of only Rs 50 is issued.

The truckers have to pay again at Beltola in the guise of 'parking fee.' Against a receipt of Rs 10 at the Beltola gate, the truckers have again to shell out Rs 350, Sri Khyriem said.

NALBARI, Oct 28: Contrary to the expectations of the militants, who gunned down ten innocent persons and injured several others in a shooting spree at Nalbari last evening, entire Nalbari today burst in vehement condemnation and anger against that heinous act of the militants and responded spontaneously to a call for a dawn to dusk Nalbari bandh.

Whatever may be the attempt of the assailants to confuse the people about their identity, people as well as the police are of the opinion that yesterday's incident was the handiwork of the banned ULFA.

It may be recalled here that the assailants left some handwritten appeals at the places of yesterday's gruesome killings identifying themselves as Assam Tiger Force and exhorting the people for joining a campaign to drive out the Marwaris and the Biharis and thus to save Assam.

But ironically, this appeal of the assailants could not succeed in having a bearing on the popular psyche at Nalbari as the indigenous Assamese people of the town and its suburbs joined in thousands today the wailing family members of Lakshmi Narayan Bajaj, Bishwanath Bajaj, Godavari Bajaj, Sawarmal Sarma, Dharam Chand Jain and Joy Kumar Jain who were gunned down by the militants last evening in Barua Road and Bhakatpara Road areas. Condemnation was writ large on every face.

The popular condemnation finds a voice in Abdul Quddus, a businessman, who said, those killed were Assamese people like us. Particularly, the family of Lakshminarayan and Bishwanath, which has been here for about three centuries now, can never be separated from the indigenous people of Nalbari. "We treat their killing with the equal anger that would have gripped us if some one from our own families would have killed in such a manner, he said.

Nalbari bandh: All business establishments kept their shutters down and all modes of vehicles were off the roads in this district headquarters town of Nalbari today in response to a call for a dawn to dusk bandh given jointly by the Nalbari Chambers of Commerce, Nalbari District Mazdoor Union, Nalbari unit of the Marwari Yuva Mancha and the Nalbari unit of the Purbottar Pradeshiya Marwari Sanmilan in protest against the dastardly killing of ten persons by unidentified militants in the town last evening.

The bandh was spontaneous, peaceful and total.

Meanwhile, the Nalbari Chambers of Commerce, Mazdoor Union, Marwari Yuva Mancha and Purbottar Pradeshiya Marwari Sanmilan jointly submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who alongwith minister Rekha Rani Das Boro and MLA Alaka Sarma, visited the spots of yesterday incidents at about 10 a.m. today.

These organisations demanded of the Government adequate security to the businessmen and common people as well of the town.

It may be mentioned here that Nalbari, which is regarded to be a hot bed of the ULFA's violent activities, has been limping back to normalcy for the past about two years after more than a decade-long reign of terror since the ULFA's attack on the family members of businessman Mulchand Jain of NT Road in 1986. Whole sellers of the town used to close their business transactions after 3 p.m. since that incident.

Moreover, Diwali which was a festival of boundless joy in Nalbari and its suburbs till 1987, lost its previous charm since the security forces gunning down a youth Parikshit Barman on the Dewali night of 1987 near the Bharatiya Talkies. After that yesterday's incident was the first incident of gunning down of Diwali revellers in the town. Incidentally, yesterday's incident was the second major incident of violence triggered off by the militants in Nalbari District after the killing of former PWD Minister Nagen Sarma at Bahjani in February last.

When met at his Nalbari-Barama Road residence, Nalbari Chambers of Commerce general secretary Ismail Ali said that whatever might be the attempt of the militants involved in the yesterday incident, the people of Nalbari would never allow them (militants) to make any political inroad in Nalbari with such a parochial ideology. "No one can divide the people of Nalbari on communal or chauvinistic lines, he said, we are living here as members of one family."

Former MLA Naren Dutta, who is also the Nalbari district secretary of the CPI(M), made an appeal to all sections of the people to resist unitedly all such acts done by the militants in desperation. He also claimed that the design of the militants to divide the people with a chauvinist design would fall flat.

He described the yesterday incident as a product of the ULFA's frustration, saying the growing tendency among the ULFA rank and file to surrender before the authorities has made the ULFA leaders desperate and hence occurred the yesterday incident.

Sri Lohit Das, the chairman of the CPI's State Control Commission also described the incident as a result of frustration among the ULFA leaders. This occurred as an attempt at countering the surrender ceremonies by the ULFA leadership, he said. He also feared that similar incidents may occur at places like Bilasipara too, where surrender ceremonies to bring back the militants to the main fold of the society, were held recently.

While attributing one more reason -- that is, a desperate attempt at weakening the bond of Indianness among the common people by the ULFA, Sri Das also lashed out at the civil and police authorities for failing to keep a vigil on the vulnerable areas like Barua Road and Bhakatpara Road.

But, he said, the yesterday incident has united the Nalbari people more today, while claiming that people of Nalbari could never forget the contributions of the local Marwaris to their society. Particularly, the Bajajs who have been here since the initial days of British rule, had gave a veteran socialist late Durga Bajaj, a leader of all India stature, and Bishwanath Bajaj was the man who gave the Nalbari Crematorium a face lift and a beautiful Shiva temple, Sri Das said.

The last rites of those killed in the yesterday incident were performed at the Nalbari Crematorium here this evening amidst the presence of a huge gathering of mourners.

Two picked up :One green-coloured Tata Sumo (AS-14/6639) was seized by the police on suspicion, in connection with the yesterday incident. Its driver and owner have also been picked up for interrogation, police sources here said.

Magisterial enquiry:Our Nalbari Correspondent reportsthatthe Nalbari District administration has ordered a magisterial enquiry to probe into the yesterday incident. The enquiry committee will submit its report within a short time.

Meanwhile, Army personnel posted at Japarkuchi have also seized another Tata Sumo vehicle from Bagals Chawk today. It may be mentioned here that the killers of the yesterday incident had used a green-coloured Tata Sumo vehicle while committing the crime, said Our Correspondent.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today visited the scene of yesterday's dastardly killings allegedly by the ultras of 'Assam Tiger Force' and took stock of the situation, according to an official release here.

Sri Mahanta met members of the bereaved families of those gunned down yesterday and offered his condolences.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the law-and-order situation of the district at the Circuit House in Nalbari town with senior police, military and civil administration officials.

DHUBRI, Oct 28: Hazirhat a thickly populated village situated at a distance of about 10 km from the south bank subdivisional headquarter of Hatisingimari, is perhaps a curse of 21st century. There is no electricity, no water supply, no road, not even a footpath, no waterway as an approach for Hazirhat. One is to go to Phulbari by ferry or country boat from Dhubri and from there go by bus to a place known as Lalmati, then walk 3 km and cross the river Zinziram in a country boat and again walk through sands, paddy field, risky narrow strip by the river to reach Hazirhat. One can go by bicycle, but in some places it is to be carried over shoulder. Some people use motor cycles at the greatest risk to life.

AGARTALA, Oct 29: The rebel leader who first raised the demand for an independent Tripura is a frustrated man now. He is still concerned about the influx of refugees which turned the tribals into minority in their own lands. But he does not find any reason behind the continuation of the arms struggle to free the State.

Ratna Sen Reang formed his Sangkrak (liberation) party in 1964 with a motive almost similar to the present day out fits, the National Liberation Front of Tripura and the All Tripura Tiger Force. But within only four years he realized the futality of the move and desolved his organization.

The Octogenarian leader is passing his old days at his house at Satnala in Kanchanpur sub division of North Tripura district. He is no longer related with any political or rebellious activities in any way. But he is aware about all the latest developments in the State.

Like four decades ago now also the Tribals in general don't have any support behind the demand for independence, he observed. He also doubted about the sincerity of the present day rebels.

Mr Reang still believes that the root of all problem in Tripura lies in the massive influx refugees in the State and blamed the communists for it. He said the main object behind the formation of the Sangkrak was to prevent the influx of refugees. Maharaja Bir Bikram also was concerned about this problem. But the communist leaders like Nripen chakraborty and Dasarath Deb fought to protect the interest of the refugees, he said.

No one will dispute the Government of Assam's assessment of the situation arising out of the dastardly attacks by the ULFA on innocent Hindi-speaking and Marwari community people in Kakojan, Naoholia and Nalbari, killing 25 of them in a matter of just five days, that certain forces, desperate at having failed to make political capital out of the slide in the insurgency-ridden situation, are out to create large-scale violence by intimidating non-Assamese people to attract the Centre's attention to clamp President's rule in the State. The game plan is indeed very sinister as it attempts to inject the element of distrust, hatred and tension among various communities of the composite Assamese society to which all of them collectively belong. The fact that the massacres by the ULFA have sent a shockwave throughout the State, and that all sections of the people have roundly condemned them, should be no solace to anybody, and certainly not the Government, that the attempts would be given up by these dark forces of destabilization and reaction to achieve their diabolic design. On the contrary, the situation calls for a greater vigil by all authorities concerned and the people at large because the popular revulsion against the massacres may further push them to take to desperate action. After all, these forces are certainly not great respectors of popular will and sentiment, and will not rest till their designs are accomplished.

As we had said in this column a couple of days ago, the ULFA, having been made to run for cover from public disdain, is today left with no option other than to look for more invidious ways of making their presence felt. It has also proved itself to be a compulsive liar by disclaiming several cases of killings of prominent, innocent people to escape popular wrath. Obviously, nobody believes the outfit when it disclaims the recent massacres also. But what is of greater concern to the peace-loving citizen is that certain forces, driven by political desperation, should seek to utilize the ULFA's desperation only to prove to the world that the situation in Assam has gone out of hand of the Government, and that the constitutional machinery has totally broken down, leaving no option to the Centre other than to impose President's rule. Parties and forces who are demanding President's rule in Assam, must know that the people will no longer take their demand as just a political act of one-upmanship against the Government. After the massacres, they will certainly smell a rat in the demand and wonder if they too are not tied up with the ULFA as has been alleged by the Government. After all, the constitutional machinery here has not broken down even though the situation continues to be difficult, and the Government has grievously faltered on several occasions to add to the instability. What they seem to forget is that to achieve their immediate, narrow political end of getting the State Government dismissed, they are out to put the very future of the composite Assamese society at stake. It is one thing that they will not succeed in their gameplan because the people will resist all attempts to create rifts among them through massacres and intimidation. But their attempts will certainly inject the element of distrust among the people which will ultimately recoil on them also.

GUWAHATI, Oct 30: A great deal of speculation is going on in political circles here over the total silence of the AGP-led Government on the Assam Legislative Assembly committee's report that not less than Rs 402 crore had been fraudulently withdrawn from as many as nine departments of the government during the tenure of the previous Congress Government. What has appeared quite intriguing to observers, including the close allies of the AGP, is that the Assembly committee had been set up at the initiative of the present Government in June, 1996 and the Government had promised the Assembly that it would investigate the sensational findings of the committee headed by AGP member Prafulla Chandra Goswami and comprising members from, besides the AGP, the ASDC, BJP, CPI, CPI(M), PDF, etc. and book the culprits. Congress had refused to be a party to the investigations for quite obvious reasons.

Expressing surprise over the State Government's total silence and inaction on the issue in the past two-and-a-half years, CPI(M) leader Hemen Das today wondered as to why the Government is shying away from investigating the scandal, particularly when it was committed during the previous Congress Government's tenure. Talking to The Sentinel, Mr Das said, his party fails to understand as to why the Government, which had taken the initiative to investigate the massive LoC scandal in the Veterinary department and scandals in other departments immediately after taking over charge in 1996, should now be pussyfooting on entrusting the entire matter to the CBI for a detailed and thorough probe. He said, only a CBI inquiry can unearth the extent of the fraud and the end use of the funds fraudulently withdrawn, as it has done in the case of the LoC scandal in the Veterinary department.

GUWAHATI, Oct 30: When Assam's premier institution of higher education, Cotton College, is all set to celebrate its centenary, one of the institutions major wing, the famous Dr Surya Kumar Bhuyan library, is at present in shambles.

The library, which boasts of more than 1,10,000 valuable books and their reference material, is at present facing a major financial crunch and shortage of trained manpower. No proper scientific care has been taken here, as is done in all modern liberalized elsewhere to preserve all these valuable books and manuscripts. Sadly, the library does not even have a single photograph of Dr Surya Kumar Bhuyan after whom the library has been named. In these days of advanced technologies even a mere telephone facility is still a far cry in the library.

When contacted, Ms Jebin Ahmed, the Deputy Libranian in charge of the Dr S K Bhuyan Library, said that the first and foremost thing the library needs is space to accommodate all the books and manuscripts. She felt that this old and premier library not only of Assam but of entire north-eastern region should immediately be declared as a reference library by the UGC because of the significance it holds.

"As usual," she said, "Our biggest obstacle is the funds constraint. Even if we wont to do some constructive work, we are handicapped by lack of funds. The UGC's Ninth Five-Years Plan Fund which was allotted to us is not sufficient."

All modern libraries nowadays have gone for total computerization. Library management has become an important specialization in itself, because it demands specialized management, classification, cataloguing etc., so as to provide a holistic contribution to society. Ms Ahmed also said that because of pancity of funds, the college is forced to collect Rs 50 during the yearly admission from each student as library fee, so that with that sum they can buy books or subsribe to journals for the library. Sadly, the library manages to subscribe to only 15 journals per month. Moreover, under the college library there are departmental libraries which are also facing the same problems.

Some of the books and manuscripts are as old as 100 years. Books, reports and manuscripts such as these need special treatment, like keeping them in an air-conditined room, balancing the temperature, protecting them from heat, dust and direct sunlight. Right now, no steps have been taken to preserve them except binding them in hard-bound covers. This reporter himself saw documents like, "The Report on Labour Immigration into Assam," published in 1896 lying in the library without any such scientific protection. There are more than such important documents and manuscripts in the library. Though recently a computer has been installed, except for cataloguing and listing, nothing has been done in this regard. Ms Ahmed, herself a B Lib, said every modern library today functions with specialized trained staff, but that is something unthinkable in Assam, since for every post there had to be proper government recommendation, and perhaps this reason is in itself-explanatory. Right now the library functions with a staff of 14 excluding Ms Ahmed. There is not even a post of cleaner to look after the library. Hence hundreds of books are lying in the dingy shelves covered with dust. Moreover a few broken window panes and the lack of proper electrical connection add more to the sad plight of the library. Though construction has been going on near the main building to shift the library there, it has a long way to go.

AGARTALA, Oct 30: Among the numerous casualties of protracted militancy in Tripura, the state's lone animal sanctuary at Sipahijala in Bishalgarh subdivision is arguably the most prominent.

Depredations by militants in hilly areas around the sanctuary and a series of abductions last year from within the sanctuary have resulted in a severe fall in tourist traffic. Let alone visitors from outside the state, most of the local people are keeping away from the sprawling sanctuary.

Started in 1973 and once a bustling tourist spot, the dwindling number of visitors has also caused the staff to turn apathetic towards the animals. The bespectacled monkey, popularly known as chasma bandar, a rare and endangered species found only in Tripura, can now be found in much fewer numbers in and around the sanctuary.

The decline in revenue earned by the animal sanctuary started a few years back after militants of the National Liberation Front of Tripura extended their tentacles around the sanctuary. According to statistics available from the sanctuary authorities, revenue garnered as entry fees from tourists and visitors amounted to only Rs 68,549 in the financial year 1999-2000. This was considerably short of the revenue earned the previous year. Attributing the declining revenue and tourist traffic to the problem of militancy and fear psychosis among the people, sources said unless security in and around the sanctuary was tightened or the problem of militancy resolved, the situation would not improve.

Forests minister Narayaan made an announcement early this year after visiting the Sipahijala animal sanctuary that a comprehensive plan would be implemented to develop the sanctuary. However, no follow-up action has been taken so far.