A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
'As soon as the violence broke out, they should have stepped in and sent a message that the state is there to stop this violence.' 'Had they done it right there, the situation would not have gone out of control.'
The report urged the top court that the matter may be taken up by the petitioners and other parties with utmost sensitivity as any misinformation or rumour or even suspicion may aggravate the situation in Manipur, where things are slowly returning to normal with the concerted efforts of the central and the state governments.
As many as 57 arms, 318 pieces of ammunition and five bombs have been recovered in Manipur, taking the total number of recovered arms and ammunition to 868 and 11,518, respectively, security advisor to Manipur government Kuldiep Singh said on Wednesday.
The three were gunned down while they were sleeping and later slashed with swords at Kwakta in the district, the police said on Saturday morning, adding that the assailants came from Churachandpur.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions by lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for the women, that the CBI has asked them to come and depose before it during the day.
Senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh, belonging to the neighbouring Tripura cadre, was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of police of Manipur.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled all his programmes for the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka in the wake of clashes reported in parts of Manipur, sources said.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
A Pakistani teenager, who recently joined a protest rally against US drone strikes, was killed in an attack by the CIA-operated spy planes in North Waziristan tribal region, a campaigner against the missile strikes said on Tuesday.
A statement issued by the Manipur police stated that the state police and central forces conducted a search operation in Tamenglong, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Kakching districts and destroyed 12 bunkers both in the Hill and the Valley.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in strife-torn Manipur on Monday night to try restore peace by hammering out a solution between the warring communities.
Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
The house of Manipur PWD Minister Konthoujam Govindas in Bishnupur district was vandalised on Wednesday by a group of people claiming that the government in the strife-torn state is not doing enough to protect locals from militants belonging to another community, officials said.
Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com meets the Mumbaikars protesting the decision to relocate the Metro carshed in the city's Aarey Colony forest, an ecological disaster.
The state government, however, relaxed the curfew in Imphal East and West districts for seven hours from 5 am to facilitate common people to purchase essential items, officials said.
"I fear I won't perform well in the class 10 board examination next year, which might affect my dreams of enrolling in a good school in Imphal," Karam said.
Garcetti reportedly said the violence and killings in Manipur are a matter of "human concern" and the US is "ready to assist" India in dealing with the situation "if asked".
'How can such barbarity, bestiality, happen in modern India?'
On seeing them, Gandhi got off his vehicle, walked up to them and shook hands with several people in the crowd.
An Indian Army soldier was injured after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village on the intervening night of June 18-19.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark snowballed into a major political row on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the opposition party of insulting President Droupadi Murmu and demanding that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation.
In a statement, the ITLF said in view of a request of the home minister, the group will finalise an alternative location, in consultation with the people, for burial of bodies of ethnic violence victims belonging to the Kuki-Zo community which are lying in Imphal.
The situation in Manipur remained tense on Sunday, after mobile internet services were suspended across the state and prohibitory orders imposed in some areas in the wake of an indefinite 'economic blockade' on two national highways called by an influential student' body over more autonomy for the hill districts, officials said.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Saturday hinted that external forces or elements may have had a hand in the ethnic violence, which has claimed several lives in the state, adding that it seems 'pre-planned'.
Kalpana said her husband is not with the family on their wedding anniversary but she will not be emotional as he will "defeat conspiracy and emerge as a winner".
The Supreme Court Monday termed as 'horrendous' the video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur and sought information about steps taken so far in the first information reports (FIRs) lodged, saying now it will not want the state police to probe the matter as they virtually handed over the women to the rioting mob.
The Manipur government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has filed a status report on the issue of recovery of arms from 'all sources' in the ethnic violence-hit state.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
In a memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the 21 opposition MPs who signed the document demanded urgent rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people to bring peace and harmony to the state.
Armed vigilante groups have been taking the law into their own hands in parts of Manipur, in the wake of ethnic rioting earlier, thus complicating the peace process. At times, militant groups have joined in the fray, creating an even more volatile cocktail of ethnic tension.
In most parts of the landlocked northeastern state, items such as rice, potato, onion and egg besides LPG cylinders and petrol are selling at rates much above the ones fixed by the government.
The development came two days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a decision has been taken to provide security to the farmers who will start the cropping season.
'It has been doing yeoman service for the people of the North East.'
Bimola Thounaojam, the mother of an 18-year-old youth, has been trying frantically trying to work out how to get her son admitted to a college outside Manipur without having to go through the usual net-based admission procedure.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also took note of the affidavit of the Manipur chief secretary that there was no short supply of basic commodities like food and medicines for people facing economic blockade.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat on Friday passed a bill in the assembly that earmarks 27 per cent seats in local bodies like panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations for Other Backward Classes.
'The opposition parties didn't want voting as it would have exposed the cracks in their alliance. They ran away from the House'
For the most battle-hardened, specialised and successful counter-insurgency army in the world, this is an unfamiliar, first-time experience of dealing with the north east's deepest complexities, observes Shekhar Gupta.
As Manipur grapples with protracted ethnic strife, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre and the state government to ensure uninterrupted supply of basic commodities like food and medicines to people facing economic blockade in certain areas of the border state.
