Indo-Bangla plan to deal with bilateral issues
India and Bangladesh recently decided to set up a mechanism to deal with all outstanding bilateral issues including demarcation of boundaries and the problem of territories belonging to one country in the possession of the other.
The decision, that is expected to give a new dimension to Indo-Bangla ties, was taken at the two-day foreign office consultations between the two sides led by Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh and his Bangladeshi counterpart C M Shafi Sami. The proposed mechanism will work on demarcation of a small stretch of 6.5 km along the over 4000-km border between the two countries and discuss the modalities for ‘exchange of enclaves of territories in adverse possession". There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi ones in Indian territory.

Appeal for peace in Assam
The Assam Sahitya Sabha appealed to the people for resisting the divisive forces in the society and bring an end to the recent spate of killings so that the society can prosper once again in the new millennium. In a statement released by Sabha president Chandra Prasad Saikia, its president elect Homen Borgohain and ten former presidents also called upon the State Government as well as the political parties for creating an era of peace and prosperity in the State.

Singha cremated with State honour
The mortal remains of Sachindra Lal Singha, Tripura’s first chief minister, were consigned to flames with full State honour. Leaders of all political parties and senior officials were present during the cremation. The State Government had declared a holiday as a mark of respect to the departed leader, who had been the chief minister for about eight years. A large number of people paid their last respect to the freedom fighter.

Safe passage offer to ultras during Bihu
Governor of Assam Lt. Gen. (Retd) S. K. Sinha said that the State Government would announce a safe passage to the militants during the ensuing Bihu to enable the militants to enjoy the festival with their relatives. Lt. Gen Sinha said that the modalities of the safe passage offer were to be worked out. He pointed out that last year also, the State Government offered such safe passage to the ultras as a goodwill gesture. 

Air Chief’s visit
Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis paid a brief visit to the Mohanbari Air Force station along with wife Molina Tipnis. The station commander, Group Captain H. P. S. Natt, received them at the helicopter station. Mr. Tipnis and his wife later left for Dinjan.

Fernandes rules out foreign hand in killings
Defence Minister George Fernandes ruled out involvement of any foreign agency in the massacres taking place in Assam. Mr. Fernandes who came on a day’s visit to Orissa to oversee the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the cyclone-affected areas, told newsmen that "we only see the hand of the ULFA in the mowing down of innocent people in the area".

3 militants held in Manipur
Three militants of banned outfits have been arrested in Manipur, official sources said. They have been identified as Haolan Touthang of the Kangleipak Communist Party, S. Inaoba Singh of the Kanglei Yawol Kana Lup (Toijamba faction) and N. Brojen Singh of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, the sources said.

‘Involve people to solve Naga problem’
The decades-old Naga problem could not be solved through violence but only through talks in which the common people should play an active role, speakers at a seminar said. They decried violence by Naga underground rebels. The views were expressed by them at the day-long seminar organised by the History and Archaeology Department of Nagaland University.

Families of ULFA ultras to get security
The Unified Command, formed to combat militancy in Assam, decided to provide security cover to the families of top ULFA leaders in the wake of recent attacks on them. The Operation Group of the Unified Command met at the Army’s Narengi cantonment and expressed concern on the attack on the families of top ULFA cadres, official sources said. "The Operation Group viewed with concern the attack on the families of top ULFA cadres and decided that security cover would be given to the families of top leaders," they said adding families of other ULFA cadres would be provided security on specific request to the local police. Unidentified gunmen have of late targetted families of ULFA leaders which is regarded as a backlash to attacks on the Hindi-speaking people of the State. 

Governor’s statement irks Cong
Assam Governor Lt. Gen. (retd) S. K. Sinha’s advice to his fellow tribesmen to hit back at the killers has evoked sharp reactions, with the State Congress describing the statement as unbecoming of a constitutional head. The Congress and the State Governor, it seems, are heading for another showdown, with the APCC president Tarun Gogoi asserting that when the need of the hour is to unite all sections of society, the Governor by such statement is driving a wedge among various communities. The Congress has also not taken kindly to the remarks that non-Assamese were being massacred to make way for the illegal Bangladeshis. Such remarks would further vitiate the atmosphere and could lead to communal tension, he claimed.

Assam Governor, CM visit Sadiya
Governor Lt. Gen. (retd) S. K. Sinha and Chief Minister PK Mahanta visited Sadiya to take stock of the situation following the recent killing of 30 people there, an official release stated. Both of them later participated in an all-religion prayer meeting for the deceased. Governor Sinha assured the people that the Assamese society would always stand by the Hindi-speaking community in all circumstances in future. The Governor also distributed cheques of Rs. 10,000 each to the next of kin of the deceased at the same function. Addressing a public meeting, Mr. Mahanta called upon the people of the State to foil the sinister design of the extremist forces trying to create a division between the Hindi-speaking community and the Assamese society as a whole. He also urged upon the people for mass resistance against the terrorist strikes adding that the threats from ultras would peter down soon if the people resisted on a mass basis. Tourism Minister Jagadish Bhuyan was also present on the occasion. On their way back to Guwahati both the Governor and the Chief Minister visited the injured persons at the Assam Medical College and Hospital and talked to them. 

7 Mahar regiment Raising Day
The seventh battalion of the Mahar Regiment celebrated the 12nd Raising Day with a day long programme under the commandership of Col Ranik S Khanna. The battalion was raised as a machine-gun battalion on December 10, 1959 at its regiment centre at Saugar in Madhya Pradesh by Lt. Col B M Ball. It was converted into a standard infantry in 1964. Mahars, belonged to the Marathi speaking areas of the old Bombay Presidency, including the undulating tracts of south of the Satpura Hills. They are adept in guerilla warfare and worked as soldier of Shivaji, the great Maratha .

Arunachal House to celebrate silver jubilee
Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly would celebrate its silver jubilee at a special function, Assembly secretary T Darang said. The Pradesh Council of the State was converted to a provisional Legislative Assembly on August 15, 1975 marking the beginning of democratic process in the State. All the 23 members of the provisional Assembly would be felicitated and a  souvenir released to mark the occasion, he said.

Ultras gun down four in Manipur
Unidentified militants shot dead four non-Manipuris after calling them out of their homes at Sugnu Bazar in Manipur’s Thoubal district. The militant lined up their victims, all of them small traders at Sugnu Bazar, and shot them dead one by one from close range after asking them to step out of their houses. All the bodies bore multiple bullet wounds, the sources added. This is the second attack on non-Manipuris by armed militants within short span of time. Earlier, three non-Manipuris were gunned down by unidentified militants in separate incidents at Mayang Imphal Bazar in Imphal West district and at Kakching Bazar in Thoubal district. 

Policeman stabbed to death at Dhubri
One 7th APBN personnel was stabbed to death and another was grieviously injured by armed miscreants who attacked them at a video hall at the New Market of Dhubri town. It is learnt that, after some trouble broke out in the video hall, the four personnel of the 7th Assam Police Battalion visited the place, when they were attacked by a group of miscreants. During the bandh hours tension prevailed following alleged forcible opening of the shops by police.

Night curfew along Bhutan border
Indefinite night curfew has been imposed along the Indo-Bhutan border in apprehension of killing of innocent people by extremists. The Additional District Magistrate of Bongaigaon had promulgated ‘dusk-to-dawn’ curfew in the five-km belt along the Indo-Bhutan border from the Lankar river to the Sukanjani river and Manas National Park within the jurisdiction of Bijni sub-division.

3 killed, 14 hurt in Nagaland blast
At least three passengers were killed and 14 others critically injured when a powerful explosive ripped through a private bus in Nagaland’s Wokha district this afternoon, the police said, reports PTI. The explosion took place near a stone quarry at 3.10 pm as the bus was en route from Dimapur to the district headquarters town of Wokha, 80 km from here, the sources said. Wokha district police and officials said, all the injured passengers were hospitalised. High civil and police officials were at the spot.

3 IRB jawans hurt in shootout
Three jawans of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) were wounded in a shootout with militants who tried to overrun a police station in Imphal East district on Wednesday night. The sources, quoting reports, said unidentified militants tried to barge into a police station in Jiribam town on the State’s border with Assam, injuring three IRB personnel. An unidentified bullet-riddled body was also recovered from Kumbi area in Bishenpur district, the sources said. 

Heroin seized in Mizoram
Officials of the Mizoram Excise department seized 54 gram of pure heroin worth about Rs. 5.4 lakh in the international market here, State Excise Commissioner R Lalzauva said. A resident of Tahan in Myanmar, Vanthangliana (24), was arrested in connection with the seizure made. He was booked under relevant Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Lalzauva said. With this, the State Excise department had seized 2.11 kg of heroin since January. 
Meanwhile, drug-related deaths in the State Since January has mounted to 135, including 11 women, he said. While seven people died from heroin abuse and other psychotropic drugs, 128 died due to misuse of spasmo proxyvon, a pain killers..