At least 23 people, including children, were killed as relentless rain triggered one of the worst landslides in a decade in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas on Sunday, sweeping away homes, cutting off roads, isolating villages, and leaving hundreds of stranded tourists amid widespread devastation, officials said.
The accused, Raja Rahuvanshi's wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Singh Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand, were then brought back to the Shillong Sadar Police Station.
One of the two outfits behind the crippling 93-day economic blockade on two national highways in Manipur lifted it at midnight after the state government's assurance to it that district status will be accorded to Sadar Hills.
A three-hour heavy downpour accompanied by a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR early morning on Friday, causing flight delays and traffic disruptions as seven people were killed in rain-related incidents across north India.
Senapati district happens to be inhabited largely by different communities of the Kukis, the Nepalis, and the Nagas. Within the district, Sadar Hills is dominated demographically by the Kukis.
The crippling economic blockades on two national highways in Manipur entered the 93rd day on Monday, even as one of the sponsors called for a 48-hour bandh in five hill districts from midnight to mount pressure on the government.
The crippling economic blockade on two national highways in Manipur entered the 86th day on Tuesday with the organisers adamant on not lifting it even as prices of essential commodities continued to soar.
The prices of essential items have already shown an upward trend, as the supply of goods along the two highways -- NH 39 and NH 53 -- has been severely affected.
Sixty-eight days of economic blockade since July 31 this year has crippled the common man in the landlocked bordering state of Manipur, even as the state government and the Centre failed to persuade agitators to withdraw the blockade.
Shops, markets and government offices in the area were closed due to the bandh called by Sadar Hills Demand Committee to press their demand for conversion of Sadar Hills into a full-fledged revenue district.
Blockade is an issue which has seemingly widened the divide between the hills and the plains.
Seven out of eight women street vendors reported experiencing high blood pressure, while women in the middle age group raised concerns about delays in their menstrual cycles due to the extreme heat.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Manipur government, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file reports elaborating on the status of probe and the charge sheets filed in cases of ethnic-violence to help it take a decision on whether the trials can commence in Assam or be undertaken in Manipur.
The Kukis have already declared that they are not fielding any candidate in the parliamentary polls as an act of boycott.
Acting Director General of Police of Himachal Pradesh, Satwant Atwal Trivedi, on Tuesday said that 15 Russian tourists were reportedly stranded in Kasol, and Police are trying to establish contact with them.
Marak, a former militant leader, had gone absconding following a police raid -- which started Friday night and ran till Saturday morning -- at the farmhouse at Tura in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district.
No matter how smug they sound on the surface about the potential of the dissenters to disturb the proverbial applecart, the Congress and the BJP know that their electoral calculations are precariously hinged in a seemingly tight contest.
In the raid, about 400 bottles of liquor and over 500 unused condoms were found, he added.
The Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly while the BJP got 25 seats.
Six members of Gorkha Janmukti Morch were arrested on Sunday for stopping the vehicle of the superintendent of police during the bandh in Darjeeling hills.
'Imagine hanging from a thin steel cable under a helicopter with certain death staring at you below, being pulled up slowly in the din and downwash of the helicopter.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
Two custodial deaths in the last 10 days in Meghalaya's Garo Hills have triggered a wave of public protests in the northeast. Human rights bodies have demanded an immediate judicial inquiry into the incidents.
'When violence spread, it looked as if Mamata was losing control, but soon, she was able to contain the situation.' 'Now, the TMC stands to gain the most.'
When Viktor Zicho left Hungary 11 months ago to cycle to Darjeeling in India, he did not dream that he would be quarantined for two months in Bihar.
West Bengal had witnessed violence and arson from December 13 to 17 during protests against the new citizenship law.
A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporter attempted self-immolation in Darjeeling as the indefinite bandh by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland entered the sixth day on Thursday, even as the West Bengal government said it would follow court orders strictly to maintain normalcy.
Cold wave continued unabated in the northern region today with fog enveloping most areas affecting transport services, even as three persons died and over 25 were injured in different fog-related accidents.
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