Category: NORTH EAST

• ASSAM
• MANIPUR
• MEGHALAYA
• MIZORAM
• NAGALAND
• ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Mizoram, once a Congress bastion, is now ruled by the Mizo National Front (MNF) while the BJP is gradually becoming a strong political force in the Christian-dominated mountainous state.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has detected around 1.52 lakh suspected fake mobile connections subscribed based on forged documents in six states of the northeast region, officials said on Thursday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday termed his neighbouring state counterpart Mamata Banerjee's decision to ban 'The Kerala Story' in West Bengal a wrong one.

A Manipur Police commando was killed and four other policemen were injured when Kuki militants attacked a police patrol party at Tronglaobi in the state's Bishnupur district on Thursday, police said.

A social worker and office bearer of an Assam-based NGO has filed a defamation case against the former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, claiming that the latter's autobiography contained some offensive things in the context of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updating exercise.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday launched the ambitious 'Ayushman Asom' scheme in line with the Central government's 'Ayushman Bharat' to provide health coverage to 26 lakh families in the state.

The situation in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur improved further on Wednesday with the authorities relaxing curfew in 11 districts, including Imphal West and Churachandpur, for six hours in the morning even as the Army and central paramilitary forces continued their vigil in the sensitive areas.

Chief Electoral Officer F.R. Kharkongor said that no incident of violence was reported in the bypoll, which was conducted under tight security measures. He said that first timers, young and elderly voters enthusiastically cast their ballots since the polling started at 7 a.m.

Around 44 per cent voters cast their votes till 11 a.m. on Wednesday in the Sohiong Assembly constituency in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district as balloting is underway amid tight security measures.

The committee would look into the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act of 1937 in conjunction with Article 25 of the Indian Constitution - the guiding principle of state policy, Sarma said at a presser in Guwahati.

There are about 65,000 tribals belonging to Chakma and Hajong community in Arunachal Pradesh who fled from the then East Pakistan and were settled by the Central government in the then NEFA in 1964 to beef up security following the 1962 Indo-China war.

Strife-torn Manipur is limping back to normalcy even as the Army and central paramilitary forces continued their vigil in the sensitive areas, while the authorities relaxed curfew in four districts, including the most volatile Churachandpur district, for four hours on Tuesday morning.

The 2,000 odd Manipuris, who sought refuge in Assam's Cachar district in the wake of large-scale violence in their state, will return to their home within the next two days, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

At least 60 people, including women, have been killed and 231 people injured while 1,700 houses have been burned down in the ethnic violence in Manipur since May 3, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said on Monday.

An advocate in Assam was found guilty of contempt of court after making disparaging statements about a judicial officer, including commenting on her attire and equating her with a mythical demon. The Gauhati High Court sentenced him to six months in prison.

Newly-appointed security advisor to Manipur government Kuldiep Singh, a former CRPF chief, said that at least 37 people were killed and over a 100 people injured in the series of ethnic violence in different districts of Manipur since May 3.

Even as tension prevails in several Manipur districts and the Army and central para-military forces continued their vigil in the strife-torn areas, the administration in the most volatile Churachandpur district relaxed the curfew on Sunday for three hours from 10 a.m.

Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo yatra that began in southern India, Srinivas is believed to have played an important role in giving the campaign its initial boost. For the upcoming Karnataka election, he is a key player in galvanising the Youth Congress workers.

In the wake of the ongoing unrest in Manipur, over 1600 people have crossed the border into Assam's Cachar district and more than 30 people, mostly women and children took shelter in Mizoram's Saitual district.

To restore peace and to quell the current ethnic violence that has devastated Manipur for the past four days, an all-party meeting convened by the state government was held here on Saturday.

The restored version of the 1990 Manipuri film 'Ishanou', directed by renowned filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma, is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival to be held from May 16-27.

A Manipur MLA, who visited the refugee camps in Assam's Cachar district on Saturday where at least 1,500 people from ethnic violence-hit Manipur have taken shelter, asserted that peace is returning in the state and people who have been displaced can return to their homes in the next two days.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Army helicopters have been pressed into service for aerial surveillance in ethnic violence-hit Manipur, while the Army, Assam Rifles, and other Central paramilitary forces are on round-the-clock vigil in the trouble-torn districts.

Manipur government's newly appointed security advisor Kuldiep Singh, a former CRPF Chief, said that at least 18 to 20 people were killed in the series of ethnic violence in different districts of the state.

A 20-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by five men and the entire act was recorded on a mobile phone in the Gohpur area in Assam's Sonitpur district, police said on Saturday.