Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Trains escape date with disaster Guwahati, Dec. 21: The Adivasi militant group responsible for the explosion that killed five Rajdhani Express passengers a week ago would have spilt more blood on the tracks on Thursday evening had a railway patrol team not spoiled its plans in the nick of time. A routine inspection revealed that 10 girders and roller bearings were missing from a rail bridge over the Doyang in Golaghat district half an hour before the Mariani-Guwahati special passenger train was to pass by. The patrol party immediately alerted the nearest railway offices -- the bridge is between Jamguri and Bhilgaon railway stations under Lumding division -- and all trains scheduled to ply on that route were either suspended or halted. The Guwahati-bound Jan Shatabdi Express had crossed that portion of the track barely an hour earlier. Police said the Adivasi National Liberation Army was most likely behind the sabotage attempt. The same group triggered the blast on the Dibrugarh-bound R...

Assam mulls ban on Adivasi outfit: Guwahati, Dec 15: Assam government is contemplating on banning the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) that hit the headlines following its recent strikes, including the Rajdhani Express blast at Sungajan in Golaghat district on Thursday. Talking to newspersons here on Saturday, state government spokesman and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government is considering to declare the ANLA a banned outfit. He said the police and intelligence agencies have details of the cadre strength and training camps of the outfit, and it may be banned very soon. The outfit, formed by tea plantation workers, has been demanding better facilities and more rights for its community which migrated to Assam form Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orrisa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal during the British Raj. It also wants the inclusion of the Adivasis in the Scheduled Tribe list. ANLA ‘commander’ David Tirkey operates from Jharkhand, as was stated by the outfit’s ‘deputy...

ANLA graduates to bloodspill: Guwahati, Dec. 13: A bomb in a Rajdhani Express coach, five deaths and suddenly, the minnows among rebel outfits of the region have graduated to the headline-grabbing militant face of the Adivasis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The Adivasi National Liberation Army, which the police are almost convinced is behind the Wednesday night’s Rajdhani blast -- has just come of age. From minor extortion sprees and abductions, the outfit has learnt how to spill blood. Officials here said they suspected the group had triggered the blast, possibly with help from another outfit, but refused to confirm its role. “Prima facie evidence suggest the involvement of ANLA, since the area where the blast occurred has a sizeable Adivasi population and the outfit had carried out a similar blast on the railway tracks few days back just some distance away from last night’s incident,” the officer in-charge of Sarupathar police station, Rohindra Changmai, said. Formed in 2004, al...