APRIL 22, 1984, FORTY YEARS AGO

INDO-BANGLA BORDER

THE BORDER SECURITY Force and the Bangladesh Rifles exchanged fire across the borders. The clashes took place when India’s Central Public Works Department officials were trying to erect a barbed wire fence at the border pillar number IQ01 in the Golpara district of Assam. The barbedwire fencing controversy has made diplomatic relations between the two countries rather prickly.

KILLING IN PUNJAB

ONE PERSON WAS killed, a Congress (I) leader was shot at and injured and an abortive attempt was made on the life of a Nirankari leader during the last 24 hours in Punjab. A report from Ferozepur said that a man who was injured by some persons at Dharamkot succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

PRIVATE SECTOR IN WB

THE WEST BENGAL government has decided to sell to the private sector some of the industrial units taken over by it “on condition that the workers' interests are protected and there is no retrenchment.” The state commerce and industry minister, Nirmal Bose, said 13 industries had so far been taken over by the Left Front

Government. Presidential assent to naturalise four of these had been received and follow-up action was being taken in this direction, he said.

US PLANES FIRED AT

SOVIET-BUILT MIG FIGHTER planes of unidentified nationality fired rocket and cannon rounds at a US Cobra helicopter patrolling the border between West Germany and Czechoslovakia, a US military spokesman said. Lt Col Charles White of the US Joint European Command in Stuttgart confirmed a defence department report on the incident from Washington and added that an investigation was underway.