Northeast India

AFSPA extended in 4 districts of Assam amid recent turmoil in Bangladesh

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA was extended in four districts of Assam for six months in view of the "recent disturbances" in Bangladesh and its potentially inimical effect on the internal law and order situation, according to a notification issued on Tuesday. The districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Sivasagar will remain "disturbed area" under the AFSPA, it said. Reports from various agencies obtained through the police headquarters have indicated that "due to sustained efforts and proactive counter-insurgency measures of the security forces, the overall scenario in the state of Assam has significantly improved during the last few years and particularly during last three years", the notification said. "However, due to the recent disturbances in the neighbouring country Bangladesh and its potentially inimical effect on internal law and order situation, the Government of Assam recommends that the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 may be retained for ..

Security forces recover arms and ammunition from Manipur's Kakching

On October 5, Manipur Police and Assam Rifles from Khengmol Hill in Churachandpur District recovered ammunition

10 people killed in flashfloods triggered by heavy rain in Meghalaya

At least 10 people died, including seven of a family, in rain-induced flashfloods that ravaged Meghalaya's South Garo Hills district in the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday. Incessant rainfall has triggered landslides in Gasuapara region of the district, they said. The family of seven were inside their home in the remote village of Hatiasia Songma when a landslide struck, a senior official said. The deceased include three minors. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma held a review meeting on the situation across the five districts of Garo Hills. He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives, as three persons from Dalu and seven people from Hatiasia Songma were confirmed dead, the officials said. Sangma has also ordered immediate ex gratia payment to the next of kin of the deceased. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF have been deployed to carry out search and rescue operations in the worst-affected areas, they said. During the meeting, Sangma .

VP highlights rich potential of Northeast, calls it heart & soul of Bharat

He urged the media to highlight the region's vast potential in tourism and development, emphasising its rich cultural tapestry and natural beauty and also highlighted the government's "Act East policy

Security forces conduct search ops in Manipur, seize arms, ammunition

In a significant operation, security forces carried out search operations in the fringe and vulnerable areas

Mob enters police station, loots arms during violence in Manipur's Ukhrul

A mob stormed a police station in Manipur's Ukhrul town and looted arms during a clash between two groups, officials said on Thursday. Three persons were killed and 20 others injured in a gunfight that broke out between two groups on Wednesday over cleaning a disputed land in the town as part of 'Swachhata Abhiyan'. The police station was attacked when the violence was going on. Prohibitory orders were imposed and mobile internet services were suspended in the town after the clash between two groups of the Naga community. "After violence broke out in Ukhrul town, a mob comprising mostly of youths stormed the police station located at Wino Bazar and decamped with government weapons," an official said. The number and types of weapons looted cannot be immediately confirmed as an investigation is continuing, he added. Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the looted weapons included AK-47 and INSAS rifles. Looting of arms was reported from various police stations in the ...

Gunfight in Manipur's town over cleaning land, prohibitory orders imposed

Prohibitory orders were imposed in Manipur's Ukhrul town after a gunfight broke out between two groups on Wednesday over cleaning a plot of land as part of 'Swachhata Abhiyan', officials said. Both sides belong to the Naga community but two different villages, and lay claim to the land, they said. Some people were also injured in the gunfight, and the Assam Rifles were deployed to control the situation, police said. In the order imposing the restrictions, Ukhrul Sub-Divisional Magistrate D Kamei referred to a letter he received from the SP about "apprehension" over "social work" organised by Thawaijao Hungpung Young Students' Organisation (THYSO), and subsequent objection to it in the Hunphun area by Hunphun Village Authority. "And in connection with land dispute between Hunphun and Hungpung villages there is possibility creating law and order problem which may lead to breach of peace and public tranquillity between the two villages. And whereas, such disturbances may result in ...

Arunachal govt signs MoU with Delhi's ILBS for cashless treatment

The Arunachal Pradesh government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Delhi's Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences for extending cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the beneficiaries of the state's Chief Minister Arogya Arunachal Yojana. Chief Minister Pema Khandu said under the MoU, the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) will offer cashless treatment based on credit authorisation issued by the Chief Minister Arogya Arunachal Yojana (CMAAY) on the recommendation of the referral board in the Naharlagun-based Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS). The TRIHMS, located near the capital city of Itanagar, is Arunachal Pradesh's first medical college and state hospital. "I am extremely delighted to share that we have signed an MoU with the ILBS, Delhi. Through this MoU, ILBS will extend cashless benefits to beneficiaries of CMAAY scheme in the hospital up to Rs 5 lakh based on credit authorisation issued by State Health Agency CMAAY on the ..

Govt extends AFSPA in parts of Nagaland, Arunachal for six more months

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, under which an area is declared as "disturbed" for the convenience of security forces, has been extended in eight districts in Nagaland, three districts in Arunachal Pradesh and some other areas for six more months after a review of the law and order situation in the two northeastern states. An area or district is notified as a disturbed area under the AFSPA to facilitate the operations of the armed forces. The AFSPA gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and to open fire if they deem it necessary for the "maintenance of public order". In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said the central government in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (28 of 1958) had declared eight districts, and 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland as 'disturbed area' for a period of six months with effect from April 1, 2024. The home ministry said a

Govt talking to Meitei, Kuki communities for peace in Manipur: HM Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday said the government is talking to both the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur to ensure lasting peace and has begun fencing the country's border with Myanmar to check infiltration. Addressing a press conference on the achievements of the 100 days of the Modi 3.0 government, Shah said barring three days of violence last week, the overall situation in Manipur has been calm and the government has been working to restore peace in the restive Northeastern state. "We are talking to both the communities for maintaining peace. We are also preparing a roadmap for a permanent peace in Manipur," he said. The home minister said fencing of 30 km of the international border with Myanmar has been completed while funds have been approved for a total of 1,500 km and the work will start soon. He said that the government has already scrapped the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to

Assam villagers vacate homes as deadline to clear encroached land ends

A large number of families in Kochutoli village in Assam's Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, which witnessed violence during a recent eviction drive, started vacating their homes with the deadline to clear "encroached land" ending on Monday, officials said. The villagers were seen going with their belongings, including livestock, in vans. According to officials, these villagers are "illegal settlers in the tribal belt". Most of the alleged encroachers have land in other districts, like Darrang, Morigaon and Barpeta, and have started returning to their homes there, the officials said. The Kamrup (Metropolitan) district authorities have set September 16 as a deadline to vacate the Kochutoli village. Eviction notices were served to those "illegally occupying government land" and stringent action would be taken against those who would remain there after the deadline, one of the officials said. A team from the Sonapur Circle office and the police had gone to Kochutoli village to evict .

Assam CM urges ULFA(I) to refrain from activity jeopardising Assam's future

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday called upon proscribed ULFA(I) head Paresh Barua not to indulge in any activity that will jeopardise the future of the youth when the state is poised to "become a powerhouse" in the next ten years. The planting of bombs across the state on August 15 is a "matter of deep concern which may affect the ongoing growth and development of the state", Sarma said at The Assam Tribune's Dialogue 2024' here. "We are marching strongly and resolutely. I am sure if the state remains peaceful, the eco-system remains the same and there is cooperation and enthusiasm among the youth, then we will become a powerhouse in India's landscape in the next ten years'', Sarma said. There is, however, deep concern regarding the planting of explosives across the state, he said, adding, "I take this platform to urge the ULFA(I) chief not to indulge in any activity that will jeopardise the future of the state's youth". The police had unearthed bomb-like ...

BJP's muscular approach in NE falters, but party sticks to its strategy

Manipur represents the BJP's unique ideological approach to governing Northeast by playing identity politics jiu-jitsu. It hasn't gone well yet and is getting worse, but party insists on continuing

Centre has made three-fold increase in budget for northeast: Kamlesh Paswan

Union Minister Kamlesh Paswan on Thursday said that the Centre has made a three-fold increase in the budget for the northeastern states to help the region catch up with the development in other parts of the country. Paswan, the minister of state for rural development, participated in the Solung festival at Ruksin in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and said the central government is committed to fast-track development projects in the northeastern states. "Visible changes are taking place in areas of power, education, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, road and air connectivity, infrastructure, etc. We must make efforts to take central and state-sponsored schemes to poor people and deliver services to them, Paswan said. The minister also said Arunachal Pradesh is a special place for him and joining the festival has allowed him to experience the rich culture and traditions of the Adi community. Paswan urged the people to share their unique culture through the promotion of ...

Congress accuses PM Modi of allowing Manipur to 'go up in flames'

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation in Manipur, Congress Tuesday alleged he allowed the state to "go up in flames" and said he travels all over the globe engaging in "huglomacy" but cannot find time to visit the violence-hit state. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said democracy is a tall order and the rule of law itself has fallen apart in the state. "Here is the non-biological PM telling the people of Manipur that he will do in 15 months what the Congress couldn't do in 15 years," Ramesh said and shared a video of the prime minister speaking at a rally. "Indeed. Within 15 months of getting a decisive mandate from all sections of Manipur's society, he allowed the state to go up in flames," Ramesh said. "It is still burning with no respite in sight. The Supreme Court has declared that there is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state. Yet Mr Narendra Modi is unmoved," he said in a post on X. The prime minister

Two Mizoram teens held by Myanmar militants return with shaved head, burns

With their heads tonsured and cigarette burns on bodies, two teenage boys returned home in Mizoram after being held captive by militants in adjoining Myanmar's Chin state for nearly a week, an Assam Rifles officer said on Sunday. The two boys, aged 16 and 15, were allegedly abducted by the Hualngoram unit of Chin Defence Force (CDF), one of several militant organisations fighting the military junta in Myanmar, on September 1 from Rih Dil Lake, a tourist spot in the neighbouring country near the Indian border, the officer said. "A group of five boys from Zokhawthar village in Mizoram had gone to Rih Dil Lake on motorcycles on September 1. On reaching there, they were stopped by cadres of CDF, who thrashed them because of a previous scuffle they had with some other boys from Zokhawthar," she said. Three of the five boys managed to escape and return to India while the two were held hostage by the CDF, the Assam Rifles officer said. "The two boys were kept in Rih Dil area for two days

Manipur CM calls emergency meeting with coalition MLAs after fresh violence

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh called an emergency meeting with MLAs from the ruling coalition, which comprises the BJP, Naga People's Front, and National Peoples Party (NPP), on Saturday evening to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state, official sources said. The meeting, scheduled to take place at the Chief Minister's bungalow, is expected to focus on critical decisions concerning the recent attacks on civilians by armed men from elevated hill areas, sources added. Additionally, the legislators, along with Singh, may also meet the governor, though this is yet to be confirmed. On Saturday morning, five persons were killed in fresh violence in Jiribam district. While one person was shot dead in his sleep, four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between people of two warring communities, police said.

Arunachal govt serves notices on employees, gaon burahs for protest

Several government employees and 'gaon burahs' or village heads in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang have been served notices by the district administration for allegedly joining protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) and supporting the anti-dam movement. Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Hage Lailang had earlier this week served notices on several government employees and 'gaon burahs', asking them to show cause why they should not face disciplinary action for insubordination and misconduct under the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964. Under the CSC Rules, government employees are barred from going on strike or criticising policies of the government. Several anti-dam groups staged a protest rally in Dite Dime in Siang district on August 31, protesting against the proposed SUMP, a massive hydropower project to be executed by power giant, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). "The district administration has served notices a few days ago to man

COCOMI declares indefinite emergency in Manipur after Kuki militant attack

According to the Manipur Police the Kuki militants deployed long-range rockets among the civilian population in attacks

Britannia in talks to acquire Kishlay Foods to expand presence in Northeast

Britannia is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Kishlay Foods, a Guwahati-based company known for its range of snacks, biscuits, sweets, chips, noodles, and tea, valued at Rs 600-700 crore