GUWAHATI, September 16: Form ULFA man Mriganka Chaliha was shot dead at a motor workshop near Super Market area under Dispur police station by three unidentified assailants this evening. Police sources said the victim was supervising some works at the workshop when the assailants struck, killing him and his driver on the spot and injuring one of his bodyguards. Though the assailants are yet to be identified, police suspected the attack was a handiwork of ULFA ultras. Mriganka Chaliha who was an established coal businessman of Beltola survived at least two assassination attempts earlier. In an attempt on his life about two years back, he had escaped with bullet injuries in the stomach and hand. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 17, 1999)

GUWAHATI, September 18: A group of 92 militants belonging to United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and two from the Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force surrendered to the authorities along with their arms at Rabindra Bhawan here yesterday in the presence of chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and other top civil and police officials. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 19, 1999)

BILASIPARA, September 20: United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants abducted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency, Pannalal Oswal, from Haudartari village near Bilasipara town. According to highly placed security sources here, Oswal was abducted by ULFA militants following the failure of Oswal to assure that he would raise the issue of sovereign Assam in Parliament if elected to the Lok Sabha with the help of the ULFA. Oswal, along with the brother of Union minister Kabindra Purkayastha, Kalyan Purkayastha, who is also the chairman of the Dhubri Municipal Board, and Prakash Agarwal and Kanchan Chowdhury of Dhubri and Gopal Agarwalla of Bilasipara, went to one Pradip Nath's residence to strike a deal. He left behind his two personal security officers at Dhubri, said the security sources here. The ULFA militants, however, let loose all the companions of Oswal and the car in which the BJP candidate's team was travelling, was also left behind by the militants, said the sources. Combing operations have been launched to rescue Oswal. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 21, 1999)

IMPHAL, September 18: The Manipur police force has been put on high alert for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections on September 25 next as the day coincides with the raising day of proscribed Revolutionary People's Front. Besides, other paramilitary forces have been put on stand, said the additional director-general of police, C Peter. He said the state intelligence network has not yet got information of any subversive plans being hatched for September 25 nor has it received any report of intimidation to the general public to stay indoors. The state chief secretary, H Jelshyam, said the state government was fully geared to threat the boycott call given by the Naga Hoho in the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 21, 1999)

RANGIYA, September 20: The Army would soon open its own website to counter the cyberwar launched by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). "Our experts are working on the details of the procedure which would come up soon," Maj Gen BK Bopanna, general officer commanding (GOC), 21 Mountain Division, told a group of visiting journalists here yesterday. Refusing to divulge when the website would be opened, Bopanna expressed satisfaction that despite the publicity campaign by the rebel outfit, senior residents of Tangla town in Lower Assam recently had tore down ULFA posters and burnt them in public. "The nearly 2,000 ULFA cadres in Bhutan jungles are disenchanted and have sent feelers to the Army to surrender," Bopanna said. The Army has implemented several innovative methods for the October 3 Lok Sabha elections in the state following threats of violence by ULFA, he said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 21, 1999)

AGARTALA, September 22: Five persons including four Assam Rifles (AR) personnel were killed and another injured in an ambush by National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) at Kupilong in South Tripura district today. Major Mohan of Assam Rifles said a group of about 20 NLFT insurgents, clad in olive green fatigue, and armed with automatic weapons sprayed bullets on a vehicle carrying the jawans. The jawans also retaliated by firing back. Four jawans and driver of the vehicle died on the spot while one jawan who suffered injury was struggling for life in hospital. Mohan said the para-military force was running a free school in the area for tribal children. The ultras ambushed the vehicle when it was going to the tribal villages in the morning to bring students to school. Meanwhile, an NLFT insurgent was killed by the rival outfit Tripura Tribal Commando Force (TTCF) at Taichhalang, a tribal hamlet in South Tripura district yesterday, the sources said. Armed TTCF militants raided the house of NLFT insurgent Upananda Jamatiya and shot him dead. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, September 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Dhubri parliamentary constituency, Pannalal Oswal, who was kidnapped by United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants on September 19 last, has been killed. His body was recovered this morning. The election to the constituency has been countermanded, said the state chief electoral officer, Bhaskar Mushahary. Police sources said that the bullet ridden body of Oswal was recovered from a paddy field on the bank of Mora Tipkai in a place called Sadhubhasa part II near Makrijhora. The place is seven kilometres away from the Bogribari police station and 37 kms from Dhubri town. Police sources said that Oswal was shot at on his head from close range with nine mm pistol. It is suspected that the BJP candidate was brought to the place where his body was found, from the hideout of the ULFA early this morning as the people of the locality heard the sound of a motorboat at around 3 am. Oswal was wearing a kurta and lungi, when he was killed police sources said here. The Assam director-general of police, PV Sumanth, told newsmen Oswal went to meet the members of the ULFA, reportedly for negotiation and was kidnapped from the meeting place. He said that the four other BJP workers present in the meeting were released by the ULFA. The ULFA also demanded an amount of Rs 5 crore for the release of the BJP candidate. He said Oswal left Dhubri without taking his PSOs and proceeded on his own along with other party workers to Bilashipara from where they had gone to Salkocha for attending a pre-arranged meeting with the ULFA. Although the BJP workers were released by the ULFA at 2.30 pm, they reported the matter to the police only at 10.20 pm. Thus, precious time was lost before the police could launch rescue operations, the DGP added. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 25, 1999)

SILCHAR, September 24: Suspected National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) militants today abducted two tea garden executives and their driver from the Dilkush tea estate in south Assam's Barak Valley today. About a dozen gun-totting ultras stormed the tea estate, located 35 kms east of here, and took away at gun point, deputy general manager, P D Sharma, assistant manager, N K Singh and driver P Talukdar, according to official sources here. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 25, 1999)

AIZAWL, September 24: A jeep carrying a polling party was partially damaged when suspected activists of the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), a Reang militant outfit, exploded a bomb on a road near Zawlpui hamlet under Bunghmun police station in Lunglei district. No one was injured in the blast, which created a deep crater on the road yesterday afternoon, police sources said. Police suspected BNLF for the blast as the explosion site falls under the operational area of the outfit along the Mizoram-Bangladesh international border. The polling party safely later reached Tuisenchhuah polling station, they said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 25, 1999)

DARRANGAMELA, (Nalbari), September 25: Registering yet another psychological victory against insurgency in Assam, the Army today organised a rehabilitation ceremony of 30 militants belonging to the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) at Darrangamela, bordering Bhutan, in Nalbari district. Among the 30 militants were 28 belonging to the ULFA and two from the NDFB. Prominent among them were former 'sergeant major' of the ULFA's Kamrup unit, Pradip Das, publicity secretary of its Darrang Anchalik Parishad, Babul Bora alias Rakim Hazarika, Saraighat unit organising and finance secretaries, Garen Chandra Bora and Jayanta Kalita. The NDFB's Pabitra Sarania was also among those who surrendered. A large number of arms and ammunition were brought by the militants who joined the mainstream. A 12 bore gun, nine revolvers, two pistols and assorted ammunition were deposited before the chief guest, GOC of 21 Mountain Division, Maj Gen B K Bopanna, freedom fighter, Shakuntala Upadhyay and local Army officials. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 26, 1999)

AGARTALA, September 26: Suspected NLFT militants in a major offensive shot dead eight BSF jawans at remote Thalcherra-Chhamanu road in Dhalai district this morning. The militants also snatched away six self-loading rifles and one light machine gun. This is the second major attack on security forces in a week. On September 12 last the same outfit ambushed an Assam Rifles vehicle and killed five jawans. Reports reaching from Dhalai district said a BSF party was waylaid by heavily armed guerrillas at around 8 am today. The BSF party was returning to their camp. The militants perched on top of wayside hillocks ambushed the jawans. Under heavy fusillade of firing from automatic weapons and subsequent grenade bursts, the BSF party virtually could not retaliate and were gunned down on the spot. Some others suffered grevious injuries and were rushed to hospital. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 27, 1999)

AGARTALA, September 27: The National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) which has called a poll boycott is now facing a token opposition from the Jamatias. The Jamatias, known for their fighting temperament and their pride for once being the Tripura kings' main stock of soldiers, are now up in arms against the militants. They feel that NLFT is out to destroy the Jamatias' distinctive 'Hindu' identity and impose Christianity on them. The apex body of the community 'Jamatia Hoda', whose dictate is the last word for the Jamatias, in a press release recently condemned the ambush on Assam Rifles Jawans at Kupwara area in South Tripura district in which five soldiers were killed. "Now the Jamatia families are putting up a brave front against the insurgents and are extending all out support to Assam Rifles in their counter-insurgency operations," said one Assam Rifles officer. The NLFT which is dominated by Christian Tripuris first invited wrath of Jamatias last April when the militants asked the community to restrain from holding their traditional 'Garia puja'. Extremists threatened that only 'Christian' rituals would be allowed in a tribal community. "Jamatia Hoda' at once reacted vehemently and viewed the dictum as a hell bent design to destroy the age-old Jamatia tradition, culture and religious root. The protest as so strong that thousands of Jamatias from across the state gathered in Pitra area (South Tripura) where 'Garia puja' is hold defying the NLFT threat. The organisation understanding the sentiment withdrew their dictum and apologised. What is more important is that the Jamatia Hoda's stand against the NLFT may even result in a split in the organisation. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 28, 1999)

IMPHAL, September 29: The underground Kuki National Front (KNF) has warned the Kuki voters in Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency against voting for the Congress candidates in the coming elections on October 4. The KNF spokesman, identified as K James Kuki, said in a statement here that Congress nominee RK Theko, during his presidentship of United Naga Council, had served a 'quit notice' to the Kukis in 1992. As per the notice, Kukis living in Naga-dominated areas in the state were asked to vacate their places during an ethnic clash between the two communities, he alleged. "Any person (Kuki), who is found to be supporting or campaigning for the Congress candidates would be punished severely," he said. Theko was not immediately available for comment. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 30, 1999)

IMPHAL, September 29: At least four Assam Rifle personnel including one junior commissioned officer were killed in an ambush carried out by underground activists Tuesday morning near Thanlon in Churachandpur district. The incident took place at around 6.30 am when armed militants attacked a foot patrol of the 18 Assam Rifles. The Assam Rifles personnel reportedly retaliated against the armed militants. The deceased personnel belonged to the Assam Rifles battalion posted at Thanlon. Till the filing of this report the identities of the deceased JCO and jawans were not known. Besides no underground groups claimed responsibility for the attack either. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; September 30, 1999)