Leopard killed after attack on tea worker in Jorhat district

A full-grown female leopard was beaten to death by tea garden workers at Mariani area in Jorhat district after four workers, including a woman, sustained severe injuries in the big cat's attack on Wednesday. Forest staff shot into the air to save the leopard, but in vain.

The incident occurred at Doklongia tea estate around 11am on Wednesday. The leopard attacked a woman, Elemon Munda, in the garden, creating panic among the workers. Munda, who sustained severe injuries, is undergoing treatment at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH).

NGO seeks info on missing woman with 'Ulfa links'

Women in Governance (WING), an NGO, on Wednesday demanded that police immediately disclose information about Majoni Das, a 30-year-old woman, who went missing under mysterious circumstances from Sivasagar.

Majoni, a hostel warden, went missing from Sivasagar on February 10. According to the NGO, Majoni was a victim of enforced disappearance as police had suspected that she had links with Ulfa. WING has also asked the Ulfa to clarify whether or not she really joined the outfit.

According to her family members, police used to harass them at regular intervals as Diganta Das, Majoni's younger brother, who was also an alleged Ulfa sympathizer, went missing a decade ago.

Gauhati Medical College and Hospital surgeon suspended

A surgeon of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), who was caught demanding money from a poor patient recently, was suspended from his duty on Wednesday.

The decision was taken by the government after the GMCH authority issued an inquiry into the matter and wrote to the government demanding immediate action against the concerned doctor.

The doctor, Girish Ujir, assistant professor of the department of surgery, demanded Rs 8,000 from a poor patient for a gall bladder operation. The matter was brought to the notice of the hospital authorities by attendants of the victim patient Momoti Kalita.

Youths detained for setting15-year-old friend on fire

A 15-year-old boy died on Wednesday after being set ablaze by three friends in a remote area at Dhekiajuli in Assam's Sonitpur district, police said.

Rajesh Kurmi (15) of Bherveri village was dragged out from his house on Tuesday night and set on fire, they said.

The boy in his dying declaration named three children, who he alleged set him on fire, they said. The boy died on Wednesday morning at the Kanaklata Civil Hospital in Tezpur, they said.

Police said Rajesh Kurmi was dragged out from his house on Tuesday night and set on fire.

3 Idiots singer to perform at AEC fest

His Give me some sunshine number from 3 Idiots had people humming back in 2009. But most people did not know who Suraj Jagan was.

Come February 24, Guwahatians will get to know the Bollywood singer better and see him perform on the concluding day of Pyrokinesis, the cultural event of Assam Engineering College (AEC).

“This is the 10th edition of Pyrokinesis, which is a three-day cultural festival of our institution. The event starts on Friday. The main attraction this year will be Suraj Jagan of 3 Idiots fame, who is scheduled to perform on the night (from 10pm) of February 24,” Kamanasish Chowdhury, publicity co-ordinator of Pyrokinesis, 2013, told The Telegraph today.

‘Meters mandatory for autos’ - Kamrup (metro) DC vows to enforce the law

It is the familiar tale of One Thousand and One Nights where bride Scheherazade would narrate a tale to king Shahryar every night to get her execution postponed.

In the city, auto drivers have adopted a similar stalling strategy each time the district administration gears up to install fare meters in the vehicles — for months and years and decades.

Ashutosh Agnihotri, chairman of the regional transport authority (RTA) and deputy commissioner of Kamrup, is at the helm of affairs now.

Here are his replies to some queries from our reporter Rajiv Konwar through email. TT: For years autos in Guwahati have been charging excessive fares from residents. There have been demands from residents to install fare meters in autos. But nothing has happened so far. When will people see fare meters in autos?

398 villages to get road connectivity

Altogether 398 villages in Assam, each with a population of more than 500, will be provided road connectivity under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

PWD minister Ajanta Neog today said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 820 crore to construct 689km roads and 347 bridges, connecting 398 villages.

She said the length of these bridges would be between 25 metres and 75 metres.

Neog said in the first phase, 426km road and 90 bridges would be constructed at a cost of Rs 310 crore.

“The technical evaluation of the first phase is currently under way and we hope to start work by the end of this financial year,” she said.

Headman killed for black magic

A village headman accused of practising witchcraft was killed at Samugaon near Mangalian Bazaar in Bijni subdivision of Chirang district in the wee hours today.

Chekon Basumatary, 58, the gaonbura of Samugaon, was attacked with sharp weapons and killed by unidentified men on the suspicion of practising black magic. His body bore multiple injury marks.

Sources said Basumatary was returning home after attending a wedding ceremony in a nearby village around 2am when the assailants attacked him. His body was spotted by some farmers this morning near a field, about 400 metres from his house.

Lid off vendor role in rhino poaching

Rhino horn traders are camping at Lahorijan along the Assam-Nagaland border near Dimapur in the guise of vegetable vendors and buying horns from poachers near national parks.

This came to light following the arrest of two persons — Azijur Rahman and Abdul Rashid — at Sootea in Sonitpur district last night. The duo admitted to buying one horn from Behali in the district last month and selling it to buyers at Dimapur.

Sootea police said four persons had come from Lahorijan to buy another rhino horn in a Maruti Alto last night but lost their way and was caught by local people. While two managed to escape, locals managed to apprehend the duo and hand them over to the police.

Trade union strike hits normal life in different parts of the state

The two-day nationwide strike called by different trade unions against the Centre’s economic and labour policies hit normal life in the State. Our correspondents add:

Nagaon: The trade union strike paralysed normal life in Nagaon. Post office, banks, LIC office, BSNL offices remained closed. Medicine wholesale dealers closed their shutters.

Most of the business establishment also remained closed. Vehicles remained off the roads exept private cars. Non-availability of buses caused problems for examinees of the ongoing HS and HSLC examinations.

Govt to dredge Bharalu river

PWD Minister Ajanta Neog today said that the Government was going to dredge the Bharalu and free it from encroachment in order to find a lasting solution to the perennial problem of artificial flood and waterlogging in the city.

“The Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metro) has been asked to clear the Bharalu and its banks from encroachment. Next we plan to dredge the river and fence its banks for preventing encroachment,” Neog said at a press conference.

To a query on the raising of the city’s road level every time a road is repaired, Neog said that the Government had recently fixed a road level for the city’s roads and henceforth that would be maintained.

Govt to dissolve ASEB

The State Cabinet today decided to formally dissolve the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and from now on, three different companies will function for power transmission, generation and distribution.

Official sources said that the State Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi this evening, also discussed the report of the Group of Ministers on the Lower Subansiri project and accepted the recommendations of the group. However, the report of the GOM is yet to be made public.

The Cabinet also cleared several proposals of the Health, Education and Public Works Departments.

HR award for NRL MD

Dipak Chakravarty, managing director of Numaligarh Refinery Limited, has been conferred the ‘CEO with HR orientation Award’ at the recently concluded Global HR Excellence Awards, organised by Institute of Public Enterprises (IPE), stated a press release.

Chakravarty received the award at a glittering ceremony held in Mumbai on February 17 in the presence of a host of luminaries comprising CEOs and HR heads of various organisations from across the globe. The award, which comprises a citation and trophy, aims at benchmarking talent and HR practices and is conferred on individuals who have surpassed several levels of excellence and have set an example by being a role model and an exemplary leader through organisation development, leadership, innovation and change management.

Mixed response to trade unions’ strike in State

The first day of the nation wide strike, call for which was given by 11 trade unions of the country against the Centre’s economic policies, including the failure of the Government to check price rise, evoked mixed response in Assam and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the State.

Most of the educational institutions remained closed, while banks and financial institutions also did not function throughout the day. Attendance in Government offices was very thin as the people had problems in reaching their offices.

Though a majority of shops remained closed in the morning hours, they started opening as the day progressed. The city buses and trekkers stayed off the roads for most part of the day and only a handful of such vehicles appeared on the roads towards the evening. Though the auto rickshaws plied as usual, they could not take the load of the heavy rush.