Imphal, June 19: Imphal East police commandos arrested the three persons, identified as Chingkham Ibohanbi Meitei @ Jiban (38) son of Ch Ibo of Khurai Kongbal Khaidem Leikai, Huidrom Basanta Singh @ Amu (34) son of H Tomei Singh of Nambol Ishok Maning Leikai presently residing at Awang Potshangbam Khullen and Thokchom Sajakumar @ Ingoba @ Pukchao (37) son of Thokchom Sanatomba Singh of Bashikhong Torban.

The recovered items include 12 Chinese made hand grenades, 10 numbers of TNT explosives weighing 200 gm each, four mobile phones with SIM cards, one Maruti 800 car (MN06N/1598), one Suzuki Access 125 (MN-01D-0765) and a Bajaj Scooter.

Police source said that Huidrom Ibohanbi was arrested by the police team from Khurai near Babu Hotel around 9.30 am yesterday after Basanta was arrested by the same team around 5.15 am of the same day from Chingmeirong Khongnang Ani Karak.

Ibohanbi joined the outfit in April 2011 through ‘captain’ Rishikanta while Ibohanbi joined the outfit in 2006 through one Anand. They were presently working under the command of S/S captain Rishikanta. They hijacked a Winger brand vehicle (MN-06/4551 from Nambol Bazar and set it ablaze at Tabungkhok Makha Leikai.

They performed the task on the advice of ‘captain’ Rishikanta of the finance section of the outfit, police said quoting disclosures made by the two members. They had extorted huge amounts of money from different bus counters in Imphal, police charged.

Sajakumar was arrested today morning at 6.45 am from Moirangkhom. During interrogation, police revealed that he is also an active member of the RPF, who joined the outfit in 2007 through S/S 2nd Lt Robertson and presently working under his command.

The hand grenades and TNT explosives were recovered from his possession. One Angou had handed over these items to him and he was to have hurled them to bus counters. He also admitted extortion of money from the general public on the advice of Robertson.

Imphal, June 19: Education Minister DD Thaisii today said that if the prevailing chaotic situation in the state is allowed to continue, Manipur will be harmed beyond repair. He was speaking as chief guest at the UNACCO’s merit scholarship distribution function at its school campus today.  Asserting that the society is surging towards extinction, he said that the only means to save the society is impartation of quality education.

The minister observed that few local people serve in the a less in the Indian Administrative Service. If there are more IAS officers from the state, a better administrative system would prevail in the state, he observed.

A concerted effort of all sections of the society is needed for producing ideal students who could be good administrative officers in the future, he said calling upon all concerned to cooperate with the government to bring quality education in the state.

He also praised the effort of the UNACCO Financial Service in the field of education asserting that everybody should praise NGOs, individuals who encourage students in the field of education.

MLA Bijoy Koijam, deputy chairman of the state planning board, speaking as guest of honour of the function, announced that `1 lakh each will be awarded to the students hailing from Thongju Kendra who can clear the preliminary exams of the Civil Services.

While announcing this, he stressed on the need for encouraging students who work hard. Only good administrative officers and politicians could bring a transparent and good government in the state, he added.

Principal of the ICM, Dr Kh Somorendro and MLA S Kunjakishore were other guests of honour of the function which was presided by UNACCO’s managing director N Irabanta.

On the occasion, UNACCO awarded merit scholarships to 210 students selected among from families below the poverty line and UNACCO’s Meritorious Award 2011 to 56 students. The first two top position holders of this HSCL and HSSLC exams were also conferred ‘Excellent Award’ of the year.

Media fellowships to three media persons, Inaomacha Salam, sub-editor of Hueiyen Lanpao (Manipuri edition), Rishikesh, reporter of Imphal Free Press and Jeet Ningomba, sub-editor of ISTV, were also distributed on the occasion.

Imphal, June 20: A three-day district level training and awareness workshop on trafficking of women and children for the state police personnel kicked off today at the conference hall of Imphal West district police headquarters. Topics on post rescue rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation were also addressed at the first day of the three-day event.

Speaking as a resource person, L Pishak Singh, chairman of Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Bishnupur district, said that the ease with which bails are secured from the court of law only encourages perpetrators of human trafficking.

The case of child trafficking is fairly common in Manipur but very few go on to be reported and gets filed at the police stations, he rued, adding that even if they are reported they take the form of abduction, forced labour, missing, rape etc. that effectively conceals the gravity of the situation.

The few cases of human trafficking that are ever reported with the police across the state have not resulted in prosecution, he said. “The traffickers are let off summarily on bail after incarcerating them for 3-4 days, after which its business as usual for them.”

He went on to say that cases involving child and women are particularly difficult to detect in the hill districts because of the preponderance of traditional and customary laws and institutions, which are even authorized to settle rape cases.

In the inaugural speech, DIG (Administration) Clay Khongsai said that child trafficking is generally considered a modern phenomenon.The purpose of human, especially child, trafficking varies from use as bonded labourers and prostitutes in big cities, to recruiting them as child soldiers by the UGs in the state, added the DIG.

He maintained that child trafficking has risen in the northeast states in recent times and in most of these cases the parents and guardians cite poverty and the lure of a free and better education promised by the traffickers as the reason for their consent.

Human trafficking is carried out in huge numbers in the Indo-Nepal border, he informed, and said that the police and government law enforcing agencies therefore have a strenous role in containing it.The first of the 3-day training session was participated by about 25 police officers, from the rank of ASI to DSP, of Imphal West district.

Imphal, June 20: IFCD minister, N Biren, who inspected the progress work of the Thoubal multipurpose project today, said that the project will be completed by December this year, three months earlier then the targeted period.

The project will be completed by December and inaugurated to be handed over to the public, said the minister in an interaction with reporters after he inspected the work progress of the project which is being taken up on a war-footing to meet the targeted period.

The Minister expressed satisfied with the progress work of the earth dam and power components of the project the construction of which started in 1980. After a long abandonment, the construction resumed with the Congress led SPF government ruling the state, he added.

Ninety percent of the construction has been completed, Biren said, asserting that 76% of the installation of the spillway of the power component and 91.50% of the right and left canals, having a total length of 57.117 km together have been completed while the work of the barrage component have almost been completed.

The total cost of the project as per the latest revision was Rs. 982 crore. If no disturbances come in the way, the project would be completed before the imposition of the Election Model Code of Conduct of the state Assembly which is expected by the early part of the next year 2012, said Biren. The CM is also giving special attention to the project, he said.

The project would have been completed much earlier then the targeted period, March 2012, but it was delayed due to a prolonged three month economic blockade imposed on both NH 39 and 53 last year coupled with disturbances like killing of labourers by miscreants, he maintained.Without the disturbances, the project might have been completed by the current month June or July, he added.

Umiam (Meghalaya), June 20: The National Investigative Agency (NIA) Sunday quizzed three members of a Myanmarese arms smuggling gang who were arrested in Meghalaya with a huge cache of Kalashnikov rifles, an officer said.

In the biggest arms seizure in Meghalaya, the state police Saturday night arrested the three arms smugglers and seized eight AK-56 rifles and eight magazines from a vehicle at Lad Umroi area, about 15 km from Shillong.

The arms were to be handed to another dealer at Mawlasnai village under Ri-Bhoi district, bordering Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, according to officials.
Lalchawisanga Zahau, 45, CL Hlira, 47, and Lallawmzuala, 34, were travelling with the weapons from Piau village in Mizoram’s Champhai district bordering Myanmar, police said.

Claudia A Lyngwa, the district police chief of Ri-Bhoi said the seized weapons were hidden in a secret compartment under the seats of a Gypsy and it is believe the arms were meant for the United Liberation Front of Asom.

The trio have been ferrying arms for northeast rebels from Mizoram via Shillong on several occasions, she said.India shares a 1,600 km unfenced border with Myanmar.

The five-member NIA team from Assam led by Deputy Superintendent Devinder Singh grilled Zahau, one of the kingpins in the arms racket, for several hours.

A local court has remanded the three to 14 days police custody for questioning. A team of police officials from Assam and Mizoram would also interrogate the three men.

The porous border, thick with forests, along Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura have been used by the illegal weapons syndicate to smuggle small and medium arms and ammunition, besides explosives, to northeastern militant groups.

‘These Burmese Mizo (Myanmarese ethnic Chin) have made Shillong their safe haven taking advantage of tribal Indian Mizos who have settled here,’ said a senior Meghalaya police officer.

Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 20: A 60-hour bandh in Manipur hill districts has been called from June 24 evening. Informing this today to Newmai News Network, secretary of Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas Manipur (COPTAM) Thangkam Lupheng said the bandh has been called in protest against the failure of the state government of Manipur to fulfill the “rightful and genuine demands”.

The bandh will begin from 5 pm of June 24 and conclude at 5 am of June 27. It may be recalled that on June 4, Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas Manipur (COPTAM) had threatened a drastic agitation if the state government failed to respond positively to its charter of demands by June 19.

On the issue of Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council, 4th Amendment Act, 2011 COPTAM secretary Thangkam Lupheng said that it has failed to address the core issue of giving legislative, judiciary and financial power to the Autonomous District Council without which the decentralized agency is devoid of true autonomy.

The Proposed Manipur (Village Authority in Hill Areas), 2nd Amendment Act, 2011, poses a direct threat to the existing traditional tribal chieftainship institution and tribal rights over their lands, he added, saying it is premature to abolish the institution without first providing constitutional safeguards.
Thangkam Lupheng said “we need development but not at the cost of our land, custom, culture and tradition.”

He said, “reserved and protected forest declared without the knowledge and consent of the scheduled tribe land owners may be returned to their rightful owners.”

The COPTAM leader also accused the state government of manipulating census 2011 by way of deletion of tribal population and conducting a overlapping census. “Double entry was officially permitted by the state government and the overlapping census issue arose which had never been experienced before. Overlapping of census is done by the state government with the intention to intrude tribal lands tactfully through census,” he said.

The imposition of a fixed decadal growth of tribals in Manipur by the state government and subsequent steps taken by district administrations to reduce the population by deleting some people from census records is another facet of the government’s anti tribal policy, he added. “The government should immediately re-enter those deleted persons in the census record so that no one is left out in the current census operation 2011.”

COPTAM has also demanded for the immediate transfer of tribal land records, maintained by their “neighbouring valley districts”, to their respective hill districts.

Denouncing the dual administrative authority in the border town Moreh, he said the existence of both municipalities and ADC have led to an overlapping administration. “This unhealthy practice needs to be discontinued immediately as 80 percent of the people of the area are indigenous tribals who have owned and managed the land according to their customs for ages,” Lupheng said.

Imphal, June 20: MLA K Meghachandra said today that yesterday’s attack on him and his men at Singa village was instigated by vested interests. However villagers of Yairipok Singa reaffirmed their stand on a continued boycott of the local MLA.

Talking to reporters at his official quarters in Imphal, MLA Meghachandra charged that the violence yesterday at Yairipok Singa took place on the instigation of Md Kadir, who is planning to contest the Assembly election as an independent candidate.

He asserted that that he has come to understand the involvement of UGs suspected to belong to the PULF in the attack. Meghachandra said appropriate action will be taken up in accordance with the law.

He recalled that there were tensions among villagers over MGNREGS job cards and that some villagers took the help of RTI to know the number of job card holders and their details.

The tension was heightened when an argument surfaced between Congress workers and some villagers over the invitation of a VIP in a function which was planned to be held yesterday in the village.

A straw pile near the house of Congress worker Md Maniruddin was set afire by unknown persons on June 18 following the argument. He had gone to convey his shock to Maniruddin.

When he was sitting at the house of Maniruddin, some villagers started attacking the house. As the tension hightened, he and his security escort left the place. In self defence his escort personnel had to fire some rounds.

While attacking the house of Maniruddin, apparently by some MPP workers, guns were also fired from different directions. This led to five persons including Tombi Bibi sustaining bullet injuries, the MLA informed the reporters.

Pointing out that constable Md Hesam of Yairipok PS, Md Hamit, Imphal East SDO, Md Idombi alias Nizamuddin, a havildar in 9 sector AR and Md Manir, a home guard personnel were the main instigators of the violence yesterday, the MLA informed that he had written letters to the authorities concerned to take action against them.

Meanwhile, villagers of Yairipok Singa today reaffirmed to continue the boycott of MLA Meghachandra until he realizes the sentiments of the villagers.
Speaking to reporters at the office of the All Manipur Pangal Muslim Women Organisation, Hatta, general secretary Md Abas of the Singa Apunba Lup said, demanded the MLA should bear the responsibility of damages that incurred in yesterday’s violence as well as the injuries caused to the five people.

He alleged that the five people sustained injuries in the firing by the MLA and his gang. He also demanded registration of a FIR case against the MLA by the Yairipok police.

Secretary Sakhira of the lup, who also spoke to reporters, alleged Meghachandra of making false promises to the villagers. She said that villagers had spared land for construction of a water supply scheme in the village but the MLA had awarded the scheme on a personal basis to an individual. She reiterated that villagers will continue to boycott him until he realizes his own mistakes.

Imphal, June 20: Out of 37 cases related with violence against women and killing of them taken up by the Manipur State Women Commission during the current year till date, only eight cases were able to dispose. The commission registered 31 cases in the previous year 2010 and disposed off 31 cases.

In an interaction with Hueiyen Lanpao, chairperson Dr L Ibetombi of the Manipur State Women Commission observed a rise in the number of violence against women in the state asserting that the commission received less complaint about violence against women in its initial stage.

Now a day, complaints against domestic violence against women like torture by their husbands and their families are coming up to the commission is increasing. The entirely different case coming up in the present day was cheating by men who they know each others through mobile phone.

The complaints of women leaving behind after being conceived from their ex-marital affairs, men trying to escape saying the child does not belong to him and refusal to accept the child are coming up to the commission, she asserted.

Reminding that the state women commission was established in 2006 and the commission is dealing with the complaints related with the domestic violence, investigation into the complaints and solve the case if it can be done through counseling and if not investigate into the case to recommend to the concerned authorities of the government for action taken.

To take up action in accordance with the recommendation is upto the authority concerned, Ibetombi said asserting that the commission has no power to conduct trial and give judgments to award punishments to the wrongdoers.

Sometimes, with no power to decide judgment, the commission faces difficulties in discharging duties. To cope with the problems, there had considerations to devolve more power to women commissions at the national level.

However, the women commission has the power to summon a person involved in a case related with domestic violence registered with the commission and now the police cooperates with the commission in arresting a person who defy the summon serve by the commission, she added.

There was a standing order of the DGP to the police stations to translate into work warrants issue by the commission. Such cooperation is a must for the commission to solve cases.

The commission is currently conducting hearing twice in a week on Monday and Thursday. During the hearing sometimes there erupted confrontations between the two rival parties. To avoid such incident, there fell the need for detailing women police personnel and security personnel on these days.

With the increase in the number of complaint, the work volume of the commission is also increasing. Compared to the volume of work, the infrastructure of the commission is also needed to upgrade. Currently, the three members of the commission are working in a room. The annual budged provision of Rs 40 lakhs is not enough to run the commission, he asserted.

Imphal, June 20: A mob has burnt down a house at Charangpat in Thoubal district yesterday following death of a man in a controversial circumstance.
Thokchom Joy (42) son of late Ibopishak who was residing at the parental house of his wife was found by hanging with rope from a tree inside the estate of house he resides in the morning of June 18.

Joy who stayed at the house of her mother’s parental home at Ningombam Naorem Leikai. After he married with Amurei Devi, he stayed the house of her parental house. He had sold own his estate at Ningombam Naorem Leikai some year back.

Recently, Amurei, who engaged as labourer in a brick field, eloped with a man hailing from Tangkham of Imphal East. Even after, Amurei left him, Ibopishak stays with his three children at the house of her wife’s parents.

However, his wife Amurei used to come together with her second husband to the house. They sometimes stayed at the house. Despite having made unrest to his mind by the attitude of his former wife, he still stays at the house considering for his children, villagers said.

Villagers assumed that Ibopishak committed suicide unbearable with the attitude of his former wife and pity with the harsh decision taken by him, villagers rose up and set afire the house of Amurei’s parent last night, reports said.

Imphal, June 20: Staging of sit-in protest against land acquisition decision of the government to upgrade Hotel Imphal into a five-star hotel at Kabo Leikai is going till today.

Today also, a team of settlement department and officials of PWD advanced Kabo Leikai with an order from the higher authority to carry out land demarcation were given strong objection by the residents who were staging a sit-in protest. Minister of Commerce and Industries, Y Erabot also joined the sit-in protest.

Around 10 am, Additional SP, N Herojit and DSP N Modhunimai led a team of police comprising women personnel and VDF to enter the area and convinced the protestors to allow government officers to discharge their duties in the demarcation of the land.

When their hour long effort to allow peaceful conduct of the demarcation proved futile, additional police force with tear gas shells and ammunitions arrived there and took position to disperse the protestors.

But, before any untoward incident occur, the additional SP and DSP convinced Minister Y Erabot and protestors to end up the protestor and allow the government officials to carry out the land demarcation process without any further untoward incident.