Guest guest Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kaziranga-assault-mlas-still-free/436638/ Kaziranga assault: MLAs still free *Samudra Gupta Kashyap<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/samudraguptakashyap/> * Posted: Mar 20, 2009 at 2300 hrs IST *Guwahati:* Even as forest staff in Kaziranga National<http://www.indianexpress.com/section/India/721/>Park (KNP) continued with their non-cooperation protest over the Tuesday assault of a senior forester and other employees, the suspected attackers — MLAs Jiten Gogoi of Bokakhat and Kushal Duwori of Thowra constituency — remained scot-free. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s statement on Thursday that arresting an MLA “takes time” clearly holds water. KNP divisional forest officer Dibyadhar Gogoi said the forest staff have agreed to resume their duties on Friday, but would continue to register their protest until the Government takes action against the errant MLAs. On Thursday, visitors to the park returned disappointed, but the staff continued with their wildlife protection duties. The two Independent MLAs — both former ULFA militants — had on Tuesday entered KNP to do some fishing along with their associates. When forest protection guards led by award-winning range officer Dharanidhar Boro objected, they were assaulted by the armed intruders. After threatening to kill Boro with AK-47 rifles, the trespassers escaped, but not before they damaged park property and broke road barriers. The range officer has filed two FIRs against the MLAs under the Wildlife Protection Act and Indian Penal Code. Various NGOs including Aaranyak, Ecosystems India, WWF-India, Dolphin Foundation and Kalpavriksh have strongly condemned the actions of the MLAs and have demanded immediate arrest of the duo. “The accused persons have violated the Wildlife Protection Act by indulging in illegal fishing inside a national park, entering a protected area with arms and ammunition without permission, obstructing and attacking the forest officials on duty, and damaging property of a national park. We also express our solidarity with the officials and staff of Kaziranga National Park and vow to fight unitedly to bring the accused to justice,” said the NGOs in a joint press release here on Thursday. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mlas-assault-kaziranga-park-official/436184/ MLAs assault Kaziranga park official *Samudra Gupta Kashyap<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/samudraguptakashyap/> * Posted: Mar 19, 2009 at 2253 hrs IST *Guwahati:* Two Assam legislators — both former ULFA militants — beat up a highly decorated forest official as the latter objected to their illegal fishing inside the world famous Kaziranga National<http://www.indianexpress.com/section/India/721/>Park on Tuesday evening. The MLAs allegedly also tried to fire at him with AK-47 rifles and then ransacked the forest range office at Kohora. But even as Dharanidhar Boro, the official who was assaulted, filed an FIR with the Kohora police station in Kaziranga, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said in Guwahati on Wednesday it would take time to initiate action against the MLAs. The MLAs, both Independent, are Jiten Gogoi, who represents Bokakhat LAC (part of Kaziranga comes under Bokakhat), and Kushal Duwari, who represents Thowra LAC in Sivasagar district. “I have seen some newspaper reports about the incident. I will call for a report from the Forest Minister. But I assure you the law will take its own course,” the Chief Minister told a press conference. When asked why the two MLAs were not arrested even after 24 hours of the incident for a crime committed inside Kaziranga, which is a World<http://www.indianexpress.com/section/World/695/>Heritage Site, Gogoi said, “It takes time to arrest an MLA.” Meanwhile, Kaziranga National Park director S N Buragohain told The Indian Express over the phone that the two MLAs wanted to catch fish inside the national park and spend the night inside the protected area. They allegedly ransacked the park director’s control room around 6 pm the same day. “While range officer Boro has filed an FIR at the local police station, we have also registered a case under the Wildlife Protection Act against the two,” Buragohain said. -- http://www.stopelephantpolo.com http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.