Fate of NCHADC polls hangs in balance

Guwahati, June 5 (UNI) Uncertainty looms large over the forthcoming election to the North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council (NCHADC) due to the sudden spurt in killings of senior Congress leaders as well as party candidates.

Official sources in Haflong informed that panic stricken Congress workers in the violence-ravaged hill district have demanded postponement of the election scheduled for June 12 in view of the three senior leaders' killing.

The leaders killed by suspected Black Widow militant groups during last 48 hours were Purnendu Langthasa,Nindo Langtahsa and Ajit Bodo.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who had accompanied Governor Lt Gen(Retd) A K Singh on a stock-taking visit to Haflong, the headquarters of the hill district, earlier in the day, will preside over an emergency cabinet meeting here this evening to decide on the fate of the election to the hill district council.

Meanwhile, since morning thousands of people lined up the residence of slain Purnendu Langthasa and Nindo Langthasa at Haflong to pay homage to them, even as all markets and offices in the hill district remained closed for the second day today.

People have demanded re-establishment of border outposts, which were there in the 1960s to check infiltration of Naga insurgents to the district and check movement of insurgents from the neighbouring districts and Nagaland.

Asom police suspect that the NSCN-IM has a close nexus with the Black Widow militants.

UNI