M A I N   N E W S

More Central forces for Assam

NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (UNI, PTI) — The Centre tonight decided to rush 27 additional companies of paramilitary forces to Assam and intensify security operations in the border areas to check the activities of ULFA militants who have killed a number of Hindi-speaking people in the state.

The government also decided to impose night curfew in the border areas with immediate effect and strengthen the Unified Headquarters already in operation in the state.

The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting here late tonight. The meeting, which lasted one-and-a-half hours, was attended by Home Minister L.K. Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes Chief of Army Staff Gen Padmanabhan, Assam Governor Lt-Gen S.K. Sinha, Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Home Secretary Kamal Pande and several other senior officials .

GUWAHATI: The Army and the police have launched a massive joint search operation in the Sadiya area of Tinsukia district where 30 were killed on Thursday night by ULFA and a relative of a top leader of the outfit shot dead in retaliation.

However, according to Assam Home Commissioner Mrinal Barua, the death toll in the massacre stood at 28 while 14 others were battling for life. The nine seriously injured are being treated in Assam Medical College while others are in Tinsukia and Sadiya Civil Hospitals.

Meanwhile, police officials in Sadiya said six suspects had been rounded up but admitted it would be very easy for the militants to hide in the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh as Thursday’s massacre site is just 3 km from the state border.

Tinsukia district Additional Deputy Collector Anurag Goel said the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police were camping at the spot.

In an apparent backlash, the kin and houses of outlawed ULFA insurgent leaders came under attack in Assam on Friday a day after the ultras gunned down 28 Hindi-speaking persons as the Centre and the state government decided on immediate launch of special armed operations against the ultras.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead Deepak Choudhury, elder brother of ULFA leader Sasha Choudhury, in Nalbari district.

They gutted a shop owned by ULFA “commander, 28 battalion” Tapan Barua, alias, Tapan Das, at Sawarkuchi village in the same district.

In another incident, unidentified youths attacked the Ghograpar residence of ULFA member Babul Sarmah but none was injured.

Friday’s attacks came a day after gunmen opened fire on the house of ULFA chief Paresh Barua at a village in Dhubri district.

Tension in Chilauli

RAE BARELI (UP), Dec 8 (UNI) — The situation in Chilauli village in this district was today reported to be tense but under control, a day after group clashes broke out over a disputed structure by a particular community.

The police said here today that five persons had been arrested in connection with the arson in which a few shops were ransacked by a mob. However, no senior officials were available in the district headquarters here to confirm about the follow-up action.

District Magistrate Ragvir Singh and SP P.K. Srivastava had been camping on the spot.

The police said two companies of the PAC along with more than 100 policemen were deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident following the alleged demolition of a portion of a shrine.

Meanwhile in Lucknow, Additional DGP (Law and Order) Ganeshwar Jha told UNI that Zonal IG and DIG had rushed to the spot to assess the situation.