Category: north-east

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.

In a spillover of the ethnic violence in Manipur, members of Kuki and Meitei communities clashed in the Meghalaya capital and police have arrested 16 people in connection with the incident, officials said on Friday.

Besides, a large number of non-tribals belonging to Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities, a reasonable portion of indigenous and Hindi-speaking people live in the region with different life-styles, cultures, traditions and languages.

Article 355 is a part of emergency provisions contained in the Constitution that empowers the Centre to take all necessary steps to protect a state against internal disturbances and external aggression.

Meanwhile, in view of the prevailing situation, the Manipur government authorised all District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Magistrates and all Executive Magistrates to issue "Shoot at sight orders" in extreme cases.

Six people who were arrested in connected to an alleged scam to the tune of Rs 105 crore in Assam's State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), were produced before a special judge court here on Thursday.

Shillong Airport is now gradually seeing more activity with more flights scheduled in the months ahead, making it another busy airport in the northeast region, while more parking bays for aircraft are on the cards, officials said here on Monday.

No fresh incidents of violence took place on Sunday in southern Manipur's Churachandpur district, which witnessed a series of violence including arsoning and vandalisation of government properties since Thursday night.

The Assam Rifles troopers, in a daring operation, on Friday rescued six civilians who were held captive reportedly by the NSCN-IM militants for ransom in Nagaland's Dimapur, and took five militants into custody, officials said.

"Actually we face high demands of tourists and depending on that we have to tweak the park opening and closing timing. This year also the park may be opened early but it will also depend on the weather situation," Gogoi added.

Pravin Togadia, the President of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), a right-wing outfit, on Wednesday held a minority community resposible for India overtaking China as the world's most populous nation.

"The Chakmas and Hajongs were settled by the Union of India, the competent authority of the then North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA), from 1964 onwards and those born in the NEFA/Arunachal Pradesh are citizens of India by birth.

The newly-introduced system to recruit Agniveers in the Indian Army has witnessed a huge number of candidates in the northeastern region, including a sizable figure of female candidates this time, an official said on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police in Dhubri, Aparna Natarajan said that based on specific input, police launched an operation on Sunday night to nab the three cadres identified as Safiqul Islam, Md.Mojahidul Mandol and Md. Badshah Seikh.