Category: north-east

Though a very challenging task, the recovery of thousands of looted guns and ammunition is now the top priority for the authorities in ethnic violence hit Manipur as less than one third of such weapons have been recovered in the past 115 days.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Saturday said that the ‘Free Movement Regime (FMR)” with Myanmar which allows people on either side to travel up to 16 km inside of either country is suspended at the moment and that the Centre has been requested to permanently close the FMR with the state.

In wake of a series of massive agitation for the past six days by many civil society organisations, a special NIA court here on Friday granted conditional bail to all five youths who were arrested on September 16 wearing security forces uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons.

The leader of opposition in Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has lodged a police complaint against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his comments targeting the residence of Sonia Gandhi in the national capital, made during a public rally in Madhya Pradesh recently.

Thousands of agitators, mostly women, tried to storm various police stations in five valley districts -- Bishnupur, Kakching, Thoubal, Imphal West, and Imphal East -- but the huge contingent of Rapid Action Force and other security forces prevented them by firing tear gas shells.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption cell's sleuths set a trap in Assam’s Rangia neighbourhood and caught a government employee after he took bribe from a complainant.

The Chief Minister made a fervent appeal to youngsters, society leaders, community and religious leaders to fight this ill practice so that the coming elections are fought on clean and impartial grounds so that sincere and honest people make it to the Assembly.

Participating in a discussion in the Assembly on "menace of drugs and substance abuse", Mukul Sangma showed a photo of the alleged drug kingpin, Henry, at the event with the Chief Minister.

The 48-hour shutdown, called by various civil society organisations and local clubs across the state demanding unconditional release of five ‘village protection volunteers’, hit normal life in Manipur’s five valley districts for the second day on Wednesday.

A senior police officer in Assam’s Jorhat district said that a vehicle was coming from Kohima to Mariani and it collided with a truck that was coming from the opposite direction.

Soma, who has acted in over 150 Manipuri films and bagged numerous awards, clarified that there were certain misjudgments over her participation at the New Delhi event on Saturday.

Normal life was badly affected in the valley areas of Manipur on Tuesday as various civil society organisations called a 48-hour shut down across the state demanding unconditional release of five ‘village protection volunteers’.

Assam Rifles troopers on Monday seized 10 kg of Methamphetamine tablets valued at Rs 30 crore from Mizoram's Champhai district, bordering Myanmar.

Students at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here began an indefinite hunger strike on Monday in protest of the academic dean's alleged involvement in a student's suicide on the campus premises last week.

The Manipur government on Monday constituted an one man Inquiry Commission to probe the killing of Indian Army soldier Serto Thangthang Kom, who was home on leave.

Assam Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah has come out in defence of Riniki Bhuiyan Sarma, the wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was recently embroiled in a land scam controversy.

At least 10 people, including a security force personnel, were injured during a clash between a mob and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) while security forces have recovered four looted arms and 138 different types of ammunition from Imphal East district on Sunday, officials said.

Police officials said that three armed men abducted Serto Thangthang Kom, 49, of the Defence Service Corps (DSC), from his house at Tarung, Happy Valley in Imphal West district, at gunpoint on Saturday. 

A combined team of Central and state security forces on Saturday recovered 15 weapons including 14 improvised mortars, one single barrel gun and other war-like stores at Khodang village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district.

The Assam Police have busted an international cyber fraud racket in Guwahati and arrested at least five persons in connection, officials said on Saturday. The police on Friday evening also shut down several city-based call centres and fake customer care centres.

Officials said that acting on secret information, sleuths of the Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) intercepted two Shillong-bound vehicles, coming from Mizoram, at Nongsning checkpoint in East Jaintia Hills district.

The Assam Police have seized narcotic substances valued at around Rs 1.5 crore in Karimganj district that were coming from Mizoram, officials said on Friday.

Addressing concerns about licensing and accessibility for winemakers, he assured the public that the licensing fees would remain nominal. He also informed that the government is in the process to streamline the registration process to facilitate ease of access for local winemakers.

A hardcore NSCN militant was gunned down in a fierce encounter between the extremists and Assam Rifles troopers in Miao district of Arunachal Pradesh, defence officials said on Thursday.

A day after all the members of Nagaland Assembly, including Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, strongly opposed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the House on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution against the proposed law.