Following a stampede at the Maha Kumbh that killed 30 people, the Uttar Pradesh government has stepped up security measures and crowd management efforts. Despite the tragedy, millions of devotees continue to flock to the religious gathering, undeterred by the pre-dawn chill and dense fog. Security forces are being deployed in larger numbers, and new restrictions will be imposed at key locations to prevent further incidents. The authorities are also conducting a thorough review of the arrangements in the Mela area, and several officials are being assigned to oversee operations until February 12.
A joint team of the army and police gunned down seven tribal militants on Friday morning in an encounter inside a dense forest along the Assam-Mizoram border in Karimganj district of South Assam.
The shutdown was called by Kuki-Zo groups, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), in protest against Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh's statement about militants entering the state from outside.
Operations are underway to trace three women and three children, who have been reported missing since the violence erupted in Jiribam on Monday, IGP (operations) IK Muivah said.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
The two -- Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Th Thoithoiba Singh -- are being escorted back to Imphal, the police officer said.
A protester was killed in firing during a clash between security forces and a mob vandalising properties in Manipur's Jiribam district. The incident occurred late on Sunday night when agitators were protesting the killing of women and children abducted by militants. The deceased has been identified as K Athouba, who was in his twenties. The offices of the Congress and BJP, and a house belonging to Jiribam's Independent MLA were ransacked by a group of agitators. Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed in Imphal Valley, where curfew remained enforced and internet services suspended after agitators vandalised and set ablaze properties belonging to several ministers and legislators.
They staged sit-in demonstrations in various localities blocking roads, demanding the removal of Assam Rifles from violence-hit areas and accusing the paramilitary force of "brutality during recent agitations".
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
Eve-teasers better watch out in bustling Guwahati as a special women force of Assam Police called 'Virangana' (brave woman) has been deployed on the city streets to curb the growing trend of eve-teasing.
Manipur experienced a year of intense turmoil in 2024, marked by escalating violence, displacement, and deepening divisions between the Meitei community in the valley and the Kuki tribes in the hills. The conflict, rooted in historical grievances and fueled by political tensions, resulted in numerous casualties, mob attacks, and drone strikes on civilian areas. The situation has led to widespread displacement, fear, and a sense of insecurity among the affected communities, with no signs of peace in sight.
The members of the insurgent groups -- United Liberation Front of Assam, National Democratic Front of Boroland, Rabha National Liberation Front, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, Communist Party of India-Maoist, National Santhal Liberation Army, Adivasi Dragon Fighters and National Liberation Front of Bengali -- joined the mainstream in front of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a programme.
Autopsy reports of the victims of the Jiribam killings in Manipur have revealed brutal injuries, including multiple bullet wounds, severe trauma, and missing body parts. The reports, released on Wednesday, detail the horrific injuries suffered by the victims, including a 10-month-old infant, who had both eyeballs missing and a bullet injury to the knee. The killings, which took place in November, are part of the ongoing ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur.
Raising doubts over an encounter by the Assam police, the National Human Rights Commission has recommended that the state government pay Rs 5 lakh as monetary relief to the next of kin of Rajib Basumatary, who was killed in Doimoguri in Sonitpur, Tezpur on June 23, 2010.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
They had earlier been arrested by the Manipur police in September last year when they were allegedly extorting money by wearing police uniforms and carrying sophisticated weapons, the officials said.
The Mizoram police had lodged an FIR against Sarma and six officials under various charges including those related to attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy at Vairengte police station late on Monday after a gun fight between Mizoram and the Assam police. The FIR, however, became public on Friday.
An Independent Rajya Sabha MP on Monday lodged a police complaint against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader has made a "hate speech" against the 'Miya' community on the previous day.
A senior Maoist leader identified as Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Pareshji, who is also a politburo member of the CPI (Maoist), was arrested by a joint team of the Andhra Pradesh Police and Assam Police.
A group of people set fire to an ISKCON temple in Dhaka district in Bangladesh in the early hours of Saturday.
According to police officers, Shinde was wanted in connection with multiple FIRs of fraud totalling around Rs 300 crore.
The chief minister's statement came in the backdrop of tension between the two Northeastern states following alleged encroachment of land in Cachar district by the people of Mizoram.
The Indian Army has launched a massive search operation for a man who went missing from the fringe areas of the Imphal Valley two days ago. Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, a works supervisor for a contractor working with the Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station, disappeared after leaving home on Monday afternoon to report for work. The Army is using all its resources, including tracker dogs, drones, and aerial platforms, to locate Singh. The incident has led to tensions in the area, with hundreds of people from the Meitei community demanding information about Singh's whereabouts.
A militant from the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam was shot dead following an encounter with a joint team of the Assam Police and CRPF Cobra Force near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in eastern Assam's Sivasagar district on Wednesday. The incident occurred at Lalmati in Namsai area, bordering Arunachal Pradesh. The slain militant has been identified as Robin Moran alias Habindra Moran of Lalkhipathar in Tinsukia district.
The members were arrested on Monday for threatening people and obstructing the land demarcation process in Thoubal district.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa on Tuesday said that the Centre is likely to sign a peace accord with militant organisations from the state's Adivasi communities within September.
The Assam police on Friday night arrested three hardcore militants belonging to the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam along with arms and ammunition from Laru area along Assam-Meghalaya border under Hamren police station in Karbi Anglong hill district of Assam.
The opposition has criticised the manner in which the drive against child marriage was being carried out, equating the police action with "terrorising people".
The accused were also allegedly involved in the recent murder of another person in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior.
The use of drones to mount attacks was new to the ethnic clashes in Manipur that left over 200 people dead since May last year.
Tripura's Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury alleged that a bus on the way to Kolkata from Agartala was attacked in Bangladesh.
The militant group has a strong bastion in the forest areas along the border areas of Golaghat and Karbi Anglong district of Assam. It has recently spread its tentacles to the tea belt area of the Udalguri district of North Assam.
The ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur has claimed 258 lives since May last year, the state government's Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh said on Friday.
The bandh, called by Barak Democratic Front and supported by political outfits including opposition AIUDF and social organisations, was "total" and there was no report of any untoward incident from any district, another official said.
Each of Assam's border disputes has its own legacy of claims and counter-claims:
A leading Kuki-Zo organisation in Manipur has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of 10 youths in a gunfight with the CRPF, raising questions about the paramilitary force's neutrality. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) also reiterated its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community in the state, where ethnic violence between Kuki tribals and Meiteis has claimed over 250 lives since May last year. The ITLF claimed the post-mortem reports showed the youths were shot from the back, suggesting they were not engaged in a gunfight when they were killed. The organisation further alleged that CRPF personnel stationed nearby refused to intervene during an attack on Zairawn village, where a woman was killed. The ITLF has called for a political solution to the ongoing conflict, urging the Union Home Minister to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people.
The incident comes days after the two states signed an agreement to resolve the longstanding border disputes between them.
Protests erupted in Imphal, Manipur, on Monday, as a group led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) locked government offices in protest of the recent killing of three women and three children in Jiribam. The Manipur government also extended the suspension of internet services for two more days, till Wednesday, in seven districts of the state. The protests come amidst a fresh wave of unrest following the disappearance of six people from a displaced persons camp in Jiribam and the subsequent discovery of multiple bodies.
The All Assam Students' Union on Tuesday organised demonstrations across Assam demanding steps to evict fundamentalist forces from the state.
A couple days after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi pledged to focus on ensuring security and welfare of women and girl child in Assam in the wake of ghastly Delhi-bus rape of a student and her subsequent death, a senior leader of his party (Congress) was Thursday arrested by Assam police on charges of rape.
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