Three arrested for trader’s killing
Itanagar: Three persons were arrested in connection with kidnapping and murder of a trader K P Chacko, the police said on Monday. “Three people have already been arrested and eight others have been identified behind the crime,” Capital SP Seju P Kuruvilla said. Chacko was kidnapped by armed miscreants from his rented house at Naharlagun on August 28 and his decomposed body was recovered from a jungle near Doimukh on September 6. DGP S Nithianandam while addressing a press conference here on Sunday informed that the government had sanctioned for establishment of five check gates at strategic locations such as Yupia-Hoj-Sagalee tri-junction, Dikrong bridge, Julli, Chimpu-Poma and Chimpu-Holongi roads and very soon the check posts will be established. To contain crimes in the state capital, the DGP said that CCTV cameras will be set up at every strategic location to easily detect movement of criminals. (PTI)
Elephant dies after it falls in drain; 3 trapped in wetland
Jorhat (Assam): A female elephant calf died Monday after it fell into a drain in a tea garden in Numaligarh area of Golaghat district, forest officials said. The elephant fell into a narrow six-feet deep drain between rows of tea bushes in Bihara tea estate Sunday. Efforts were made to rescue the animal, but it was found dead Monday morning, they said. The pachyderm was buried after post-mortem. Meanwhile, a bullet-injured female elephant with her two calves were trapped in a wetland for the last five days at Biswanathghat in Sonitpur district. The elephant, suspected to be injured in forest personnel firing while they were driving back the straying animals into the forests, was not allowing anybody to come near her for providing medical care or food, they said. (PTI)
Rhino dies after being trapped in mud for three days
Jorhat (Assam): An adult female rhino died on Sunday in Kaziranga National Park after being trapped in mud for three days, a forest official said. The female rhino was trapped in a mud pit on Saturday near Bordoloni forest camp in Kohora Range of the World Heritage Site and died around around 8.30 am, said KNP Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S P Seal Sarma. All efforts were made to rescue the rhino, Sarma said adding the KNP forest veterinary wing, along with a team of doctors from the College of Veterinary Science, Guwahati, and veterinarians from the Centre for the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) tried to safely bring out the one-horn rhino from the mud. The forest department does not have crane-like equipment for safely lifting heavy animals like rhinos and elephants trapped in mud or deep drains, he said. Earthmoving and construction equipment vehicles, as suggested by some quarters, were not used for lifting the animal as the equipment would cause serious injuries to it, he said. This is the third rhino killed since October last in similar circumstances, the DFO said. Meanwhile, another rhino was roaming about in a jute field in Gorebandha area of Nagaon district for the last five days, Forest Department sources said. The local people claimed that the Forest Department personnel did not make the necessary efforts for sending the rhino back to Kaziranga. According to official records, 22 rhinos were killed this year while 24 poachers were arrested and 20 others lost their lives in encounters with security forces. Since 2001, a total of 127 rhinos have been killed by poachers till now, as per the records. (PTI)
Manipur remain cut off due to blockade by Naga body
Imphal: All roads leading to Manipur continued to remain cut off due to the blockade imposed by United Naga Council (UNC) since September 4. Although Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has assured to take up all possible measures to ensure that essential commodities remain available in the state, as the blockade has led to acute shortage of goods and prices of goods have also escalated enormously. Petroleum products are reportedly distributed only in few oil depots and serpentine queues could be seen in front of the depots due to the crisis situation. The situation in Ukhrul district has reportedly improved and the state government has withdrawn prohibitory orders from this region. About 100 trucks have left Imphal towards Jiribam under heavy security, though the transport services here remained cancelled on the two highways. The transporters, however, have shown reluctance to travel even under protection on Imphal Mao highway which goes towards Nagaland. Due to the blockade, petrol continued to be sold in black market at Rs 150 per litre, LPG at Rs 1,500, potato at Rs 45 per kg.UNC had called the blockade after two persons were killed at Ukhrul earlier. (UNI)