Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has opposed extending the ceasefire with the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)—an armed outfit considered more dangerous than the ULFA—which expired on December 31. Gogoi’s opposition to the ceasefire extension comes on a day when P Chidambaram arrives on his maiden visit to Assam as Union Home Minister. Chidambaram, who reaches Guwahati late on Thursday night, will review the Assam security scenario in the wake of the October 30 serial blasts as also the counter-insurgency operations under the United Command structure. “I am against extending the ceasefire with NDFB which expired last night. They have violated the ceasefire ground rules. In spite of the ceasefire they carried out serial blasts in Guwahati and other places (on October 30),” Gogoi said. The CM, however, said it was ultimately for the Centre to take the ultimate decision. “The Centre will of course make its own assessment of the ground situation before taking...

Sketch of Assam blast accused released Guwahati, Jan 2: The sketch of an ULFA militant, said to be the prime accused in Thursday’s serial blasts in Guwahati was released on Friday by the Assam A sketch of the prime accused in Thursday’s serial blasts in Guwahati. The sketch is of 20-year-old Pranjol Deka alias Biju Sarania alias Bhambal of the ULFA's 709 battalion, the prime accused, police spokesperson Jyashree Khersa said. Deka was the mastermind who carried out the three blasts with the help of two associates, she said. Deka was a resident of Duarkuchi village in Assam's Baksa district. The police have launched a massive manhunt to nab him and his two associates, she said. Five persons were killed and over 50 injured in the blasts. Source : Press Trust of India (PTI) Image : Times Now Other Stories : Assam serial blasts toll rises to six Guwahati, Jan 2: The death toll in the serial blasts in Assam has risen to 6 with one person succumbing to his injuries overnight, official...

Chidambaram warns of action against NE militants Guwahati, Jan 2: In a tough message against the backdrop of New Year-day serial blasts, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said security forces will deal with banned outfits in the north east "decisively" if they threaten peace and integrity of India but felt talks could be held with ULFA if it gave up sovereignty demand. "The leaders of banned organisations if they are listening as I speak now or read it in tomorrow's newspapers or watch television later in the day, they must get this clear message that security forces will deal decisively with the members of these banned organisations who threaten peace and integrity of India," he said. Addressing a press conference here after a review meeting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who also chairs the Unified Command in the north east, Chidambaram said "no quarter would be given to militants." Condemning yesterday's blasts here in which five p...

5 dead, 51 injured in serial blasts Guwahati, Jan 1: Three blasts took place in crowded areas of Guwahati today (Thursday), shortly before the arrival of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. The Assam Chief Minister's Office confirmed that the low intensity blasts have left five persons dead and 51 others injured. The first bomb exploded in the Birubari area, injuring three persons. At least four people were injured when a suspected cycle bomb exploded at Bhootnath locality, which falls on the route Chidambaram was to take, shortly before his arrival. Three persons were injured in a blast outside a Big Bazar retail chain outlet at Bhangagarh, an upmarket commercial area near the Guwahati Medical College. Earlier, an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) kept in a municipal corporation dustbin went off at around 3:00pm leaving three persons wounded. Assam DGP, GM Srivastava has said, “One person is in critical condition. We can confirm that the perpetrators are ULFA.” ''We had inf...

India hopes Bangladesh will crack down on NE insurgents New Delhi: Having correctly read Bangladesh's electoral mood, India now hopes that the new Awami League government will finally start cracking down on anti-India insurgents who have for long made that country their base. The presence in Bangladesh of leaders and key operatives of several militant groups from northeast India has been a thorn in bilateral ties that otherwise improved under the country's army-backed caretaker administration. But the insurgents, in particular the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), continued to use Bangladeshi soil. Although the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) also has a presence in Bangladesh, it is now in talks with India. Another group giving the Indian establishment a headache is the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HuJI), a Bangladeshi group linked to terrorist actions in India. New Delhi is also hoping that the new government of Sheikh Hasina will sign an extradition treaty wit...

Air Deccan employee was to give help: New Delhi, Apr 24: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed that terrorist outfits planned to hijack an aircraft from North Eastern Region (NER). The admission is significant because Assam Police had a couple of months back claimed to have unearthed a conspiracy to hijack an aircraft from LGBI Airport. An employee of Air Deccan was detained in this connection. Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel in a Lok Sabha reply, said that several intelligence inputs have been received by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) regarding terrorist outfits planning to hijack civilian aircrafts from North Eastern States (NES). On receipt of intimation about any threat message from intelligence agencies, an alert message is issued by BCAS with a copy to the concerned regional Deputy Commissioner of Security with specific instructions to coordinate with the concerned agencies at the airports and to monitor the security arrangements, Patel added. An Air Decca...