1 killed in ULFA strike, militant killed in encounter
Lakhimpur/Dibrugarh :ULFA (I) militants on Thursday killed a man and injured two others while another militant was killed in an encounter with police ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Assam on November 29. A group of ULFA (Independent) militants came on a motorcycle at about 2 AM at a Numaligarh petrol pump depot and pumped bullets in sleeping employees, killing one and injuring two others at Khelmati in North Lakhimpur district, SP P K Bhuyan said. The injured were referred to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital. Eight empty cartridges of AK-47 rifles were found near the spot, Bhuyan said. In another incident, an ULFA(I) cadre was killed in an encounter with police while three others managed to escape at Betonisuk in Dibrugarh district, a police spokesman said. Acting on a tip-off that some ULFA cadres were hiding in the area, police launched a search and an encounter took place in which the militant, identified as Mridul Gogoi, was killed. An AK-56 rifle was recovered from the slain militant and search operations were on to nab the three militants who escaped, the spokesman said. (PTI)
ULFA(I) demands information about 26 “missing” cadres
Guwahati:Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Assam on November 29, the ULFA (Independent) on Thursday demanded that Centre provides information about 26 cadres, allegedly missing since the operation against ULFA in Bhutan in 2003. “We demand the information about the missing cadres as both their family members and the outfit are entitled to know whether they are alive or killed,” ULFA(I) chief Paresh Asom (Barua) said in a statement here. He said his outfit would launch an agitation if the information was not provided by January 10 next. (PTI)
CM urges MLas to adopt a village
Aizawl:Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Thursday suggested that all the members of the state legislative assembly should nurture a model village within their respective constituencies, an official statement said. Lal Thanhawla made the suggestion at the first meeting of the newly-constituted State Planning Board in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal that all the Members of Parliament should have a model village in their constituencies, the statement said. “The concept would be of great help in implementation of decentralised planning and village master plan,” he said. The meeting deliberated a number of proposals arising out of the Centre’s plan to change and restructure the Planning Commission and establishment of the Expenditure Management Commission, the statement said. Increase in agriculture production and a number of planning and developmental issues. (PTI)
Acharya appeals to ENSF to withdraw Statehood Day
Kohima: Nagaland Governor P B Acharya has appealed to the Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF) to withdraw its Statehood Day boycott call while assuring to address their grievances. “This is the day when we salute our elders who sacrificed and worked hard for achieving the statehood,” said Acharya in an appeal on Thursday. Stating that all genuine grievances could be addressed in proper democratic methods, Acharya also assured to undertake a tour of the ENPO areas in near future. The Governor said it was the responsibility of every patriotic citizen to respect the sacrifices of our leaders who fought for freedom. “For us, Independence Day, Republic Day and Statehood Day should be sacred days and a very precious moment,” he maintained.(PTI)
Heroin seized in Aizawl
Aizawl:Mizoram Excise and Narcotics department’s Anti Narcotics Squad seized 41 grams of heroin in northern part of Aizawl city on Wednesday, the department’s spokesman on Thursday said. The spokesman said that two women – Lalrinchhani (30) and Lalrothangi (29) both from Mizoram-Myanmar Champhai district’s North Khawhai and Ruantlang village respectively.The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, he said. (PTI)
Rs 1.80 lakh looted from bank premises
Jorhat(Assam):Three youths on Thursday allegedly looted Rs 1.80 lakh from a person inside an United Bank of India (UBI) branch in Assam’s Jorhat town.An employee of a trading agency had come to deposit the money at UBI’s Gar Ali branch when the youths waiting near the counter snatched the bag from his hand and fled away in a motorcycle waiting outside, Amanjeet Kaur said.Police and the public manged to nab one person and during interrogation that person claimed that he along with the others had come from Guwahati this morning to loot the amount from the employee. Search operation was on to nab the two others who managed to escape, she added. (PTI)