The CBI has arrested from Pune a 22-year-old man suspected to be the mastermind behind the case of two missing Manipuri students who were believed to have been killed, officials said.
These families were taken to the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on the northern side of Imphal Valley early on Saturday, as they had become 'vulnerable targets', an official said.
Five police personnel have been placed under suspension in connection with the incident in which a 29-year-old journalist was killed in police firing in Manipur, official sources said on Monday. The sources said a three-member enquiry committee headed by Principal Secretary, Home, Suresh Babu has been constituted to probe Sunday's incident and the panel would submit its report to the government for further action within a week.
The issue at the core of it is the perceived fear among the locals of getting outnumbered and uprooted by 'others' and eventually losing their identity
The indefinite economic blockade called by two student bodies to demand that 7000 students be allowed to appear in the Class-X Manipur board exam began from midnight Thursday night along Imphal-Moreh National Highway, affecting movement of vehicles carrying goods.
The prime minister gave this assurance to an all-party delegation from Manipur led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. Singh also wanted a constitutional amendment in this regard.
The curfew was imposed this noon and covers Porompat and Sawombung subdivisions of Imphal East district, said an order issued by the district magistrate. It will continue till further directions.
She also demanded that Chief Minister N Biren Singh admit his failure and apologise to the people of Manipur.
Ban is the bane of life in the frontier state of Manipur that is plagued by myriad troubles ranging from insurgency, ethnicity to underdevelopment.
Only one petrol pump has stock but it will supply petrol and diesel only to school buses and school vans, official sources said.
A three member delegation of Bhartiya Janata Party headed by Prakash Javadekar called on the union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday evening and demanded that the government should take immediate steps to end the blockade of National Highway 39 by the Naga students so that the supplies of the essential commodities reach the people of Manipur.
Eight other ministers from the BJP and its alliance partners also took oath along with the chief minister.
The BJP cobbles up the numbers to stake a claim to form a government in Imphal. But ruling the restive state won't be easy, says Chitra Ahanthem.
The victory was marked with the support of 32 of the total 60 MLAs in the assembly.
Security forces which tried to quell the mob were forced to use force and fired tear gas shells at the mob at New Checkon in Imphal, they added.
Irom Sharmila, the rights activist who formed a party recently, was unable to garner any significant votes.
After Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, discontent is brewing among Congress MLAs in Manipur.
The Imphal Valley in Manipur remained peaceful but tense on Friday, however intermittent gunfights between militant groups and security forces were reported from the hill districts surrounding the valley.
The contingent of 88 CRPF personnel drove straight to the CRPF headquarters at Langjing, about 10 km from Imphal, after reaching from Delhi, official sources said.
New Delhi's inaction on the grim situation in Manipur, whose people are facing untold hardship due to the economic blockade by Naga rebels, is shocking and can have disastrous consequences for India, warns Colonel (Dr) Anil Athale (retd)
In separate incidents, automatic gunfire was reported from Kwakta in Bishnupur district of Manipur and Kangvai in Churachandpur district through the night.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
The Zomi-Kuki organisation also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for a permanent solution to the ongoing ethnic strife
The indefinite economic blockade by United Naga Council since November 1, 2016 in Manipur against the state government's decision for creation of seven new districts has severely hit supply of essential commodities, including fuel.
The NSCN-IM delegation, led by senior leader V S Atem, met interlocutor A K Mishra at an undisclosed location in the national capital.
Two aircraft with life-saving drugs from Guwahati arrived in Manipur on Monday as trucks with essential supplies and petroleum products began entering Manipur, which has been cut-off by a Naga student blockade on two highways from Assam and Nagaland since April 16.
Exploiting the killings to ratchet up the tension in the region and harden negotiating positions with the central government serves nobody, least of all the people of Nagaland. The peace process must not be stalled because of this incident or distracted by calls to repeal the AFSPA, argues Vivek Gumaste.
Ten Manipur tribal MLAs Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from security duties in the violence-hit state, saying its personnel have been putting their lives at risks to create buffer zones between the two warring communities.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra will be hearing the petition filed by NGO Manipur Tribal Forum.
Modi slammed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the most directionless the country has ever seen and cited reviled names, such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
The four MLAs, accompanied by Sangma and BJP's trouble-shooter and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, visited the Raj Bhavan in the afternoon to submit letter of support to the BJP-led government.
The governor justified her decision to invite the BJP, saying the party has requisite numbers.
"The violent mob vandalised all the houses and burnt them to the ground after looting all the moveable properties," the FIR lodged at Saikul police station claimed.
'The central government can stop further destruction... if they have the political will to do so.'
Out of the 167 candidates, 54 are crorepatis. Manipur Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms ADR said.
They cited the lack of trust in the leadership of O Ibobi Singh and said that due to him, the Congress failed to form the government even when it was the single largest party in the state.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused urgent hearing on a plea seeking Army protection for minority Kuki tribals amid ethnic violence in Manipur.
