Ransom demanded for release of BRTF hostages
Aizawl:Almost a week after two employees of Border Road Task Force (BRTF) were abducted from Mizoram-Bangladesh border, a ransom has been demanded for their release, police said on Saturday. The abductors informed the BRTF officials posted in Mizoram-Bangladesh border’s West Phaileng village that they would have to pay ransom for the release of the two hostages, they said. The culprits, however did not mention the amount to be paid, police said. Hokum Singh of Haryana and Mohammed Buizul Islam of Aizawl were abducted by suspected Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram (BDFM) goons and NLFT militants combine on Monday from Mizoram-Bangladesh border’s Mamit district. The armed abductors escaped and have kept the captives inside Bangladesh since then, police said. Meanwhile, Mizoram Home minister R Lalzirliana warned that the state government might take strong action against the abductors if they continue to keep the abductees in captivity for long. “The government would take action to ensure that no abductions take place again in Mizoram soil,” Lalzirliana said. (PTI)
AHRC orders probe into corruption charge in prison dept.
Guwahati:The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has ordered an enquiry into the alleged siphoning of a huge amount of money out of a grant released by the IG Prisons for as many as eight jails in Assam. Taking suo moto cognizance of a news published in a vernacular daily, a division bench of Dr Justice Aftab Hussain Saikia, Chairperson, and Tarun Pookan, Member, of the AHRC issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, to cause an inquiry through an officer not below the rank of a Commissioner & Secretary to the State into the matter. The news item had reported about the alleged siphoning of a huge amount of money out of a grant of Rs 2.50 Crores released by the then I.G., Prisons, Assam, during 2014-15 in favour of two Supply Firms, viz., Tanmoy Enterprise and Rumal Enterprise, in an irregular way for the purpose of supplying food materials to around 2700 inmates in eight jails of the State. The enquiry report to the Commission is to be submitted within 30 days. (UNI)
Violence flares up in Tuensang town of Nagaland, 2 killed
Kohima:Following acts of violence, firing and arson in Tuensang town during the past several weeks, the situation again flared up on Friday when two people, including a minor boy, were reportedly killed in acts of violence. According to official sources on Saturday, an additional two companies of armed police forces have been rushed to Tuensang, while central paramilitary forces were also asked to be on standby. Sources said that a minor boy of a nearby village was killed during an attack on the village by some elements.A mother and minor child who were taken hostage were later released at the intervention of an apex tribal body.However, the incident served to inflame, in what was seen as retaliation a mob reportedly attacked a policeman in the afternoon in Tuensang town. It was reported that the victim was rushed to the hospital but was dragged out and hacked to death.A high level security meeting was held in Kohima yesterday, where Chief Minister T R Zeliang held a marathon review meeting with senior civil and police officials to take stock of the situation in Tuensang.(UNI)
Leopards killed, trapped in Assam
Guwahati:A leopard was killed by people while another trapped by forest department in separate incidents in Assam on saturday. A leopard, which had strayed into human habitation, was beaten with sharp weapons in Jorhat this morning, leading to the death of the animal. The leopard had injured two persons, which led the people to attack and kill it. In the other incident, a leopard that was terrorizing people on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park for long was trapped in a cage set by forest department on Saturday morning. A sheep was used as a bait to trap the leopard, which had killed cattle in the area. (UNI)
Strike prohibited in Inland Water Transport services
Guwahati:The government has prohibited any form of strikes in the services of Inland Water Transport (IWT) department for the next six months.According to an official release, strikes have been prohibited under the “Essential Services Maintenance (Assam) Act, 1980 and in view of public interest”.The order comes into force with immediate effect for a period of six months, it added. (PTI)