Eleven people, including a Railways locomotive driver, were killed and at least two others were injured when suspected Dimaa Halam Daogah (Jewel) militants carried out two separate attacks in North Cachar Hill district on Thursday morning. According to a police source, ten people were killed when the militants also known as Black Widows- waylaid five trucks at Panimur area, which falls under the Umrangshu police station, at around 8.30 am today morning.
Suspected militants from anti-talks faction of Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel Garlosa) or Black Widows gunned down four workers of a cement plant owned by Vinay Cement at Umranghsu in North Cachar Hill district of Assam on Tuesday.
Official sources said that suspected Black Widow militants abducted five bamboo cutters from a bamboo suppliers' firm under the Umrangshu police station on Thursday. The bodies of four of the abducted people were found today while the fifth person was found in a critically injured condition.
Uneasy calm in Assam's North Cachar hill district was disrupted on Monday when three persons including a policeman were killed and two others injured when suspected Naga rebels ambushed a police vehicle between Purana Leikul and Hindu Impoi, about 15 kilometers away from Mahun under Mahur police station, at about 1.30 pm.
The surrender reflects the success of renewed intensive operations by the security forces, claimed the Army.
The arrests were made on a tip-off that some anti-social elements used these exchanges to divert calls originating from Dubai, Pakistan, UAE, Bangladesh and several other foreign countries to destinations in rest of the country.
The tribal Black Widow militant group, which has been running riot in the North Cachar Hill district of Assam, has offered a unilateral truce with the government. However, the state government has preferred to adopt a wait and watch policy before responding to the truce offer. Security sources feel that the offer of unilateral truce from the Black Widow was a positive development towards finding a solution to the violent atmosphere prevailing in the hill district.
The attack, carried out by suspected Black Widow militants, targeted a police picket stationed at a construction work site. Construction companies are frequently targeted by the insurgents for extortions.
Police sources in N C Hills said the DHD (J) ultras, also known as 'Black Widow', arrived at the saw mills and fired indiscriminately killing eight on the spot.
The successive arrests of its two top leaders within a week of each other have served a major blow to the insurgent group Black Widow. The group has been terrorising Assam's North Cachar Hill district. The Police arrested the outfit's No. 2 Joy Kishore Tharasen alias Daku Singh two days ago. The Black Widow's No. 3 leader Action Dimasa, along with seven militants, was arrested earlier this week. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered in both cases.
About the deaths of so many civilians in a goods train mishap, a railway spokesman said that due to poor roads, tribal people of the North Cachar Hill usually jump on to goods trains to reach the south.
G C Langthasa's son was gunned down by Hmar militants on Monday.
The ultras will be provided six-month vocational training in trade of their choice at the Army-run rehabilitation and training centre (RTC) at Tamulpur. They will also be provided with Rs 1.5 lakh each and the amount will be paid to three-year fixed deposit accounts to be opened against the name of each of the surrendered militants.
Suspected militants hurled the grenade and escaped using the crowd at the station as cover.
Each of Assam's border disputes has its own legacy of claims and counter-claims:
Akshay Kumar and Urmila Matondkar expressed shock over a May 4 video of two women being paraded naked in strife-hit Manipur and demanded punishment for the perpetrators of the 'horrifying' incident.
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh will have to treat these militias for what they are: Criminals armed with deadly weapons. Otherwise, nothing will distinguish the National Democratic Alliance government from the ten-year long perfidy of the UPA in Assam.'
AFSPA can be safely lifted from almost 90 per cent of Nagaland, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Assam's longest border dispute is with Nagaland, which began since the creation of the state in 1963.
Close to 2,000 passengers are stranded at the premises of the airport, the terminal building of which can handle only 750 passengers -- 250 for arrival and 500 for departure -- at a time.
'I thought that the days of firing between two police forces (belonging to states of the Union of India) were over.'
The apex court ordered adequate steps to be taken for protecting places of worship.
The 84-year old veteran Congressman, who died from post-COVID complications on Monday, was a Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist.
While Mizoram alleged that personnel of the Assam police fired on its civilians injuring one, the neighbouring state claimed that the men in uniform only returned the fire after miscreants from the other side of the border sprayed bullets on them.
High-pitched identity politics, which is the norm in the northeast, has continued to compound the boundary problem.
The committees headed by a cabinet minister will have bureaucrats and maybe a local representative as members and they will visit the disputed sites, interact with the civil society members and complete the discussions within 30 days, Sarma said.
The Assam-Mizoram violence is an outcome of BJP trying too hard to 'integrate' distinct northeastern states, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Currently, the Brahmaputra at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri towns, while the Barak at AP Ghat in Cachar and Badarpurghat in Karimganj are flowing above the danger mark.
While incessant rain in the past 24 hours has wreaked havoc in parts of the northeast, triggering flash floods, the national capital experienced one of its hottest days.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
