IMPHAL — Normal life remained affected in a few hill districts in Manipur, including Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, for the second day on Saturday amid the shutdown called by a few tribal organisations, anticipating an attack on Kuki-Zo tribals, officials said.  An official said that shops, markets and various commercial establishments remained shut, while vehicles excluding those of security forces and emergency services remained off the roads. However, No untoward incident has been reported so far. The shutdown began in the...

MYSURU — Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the Hindenburg report and the Manipur violence, as he hit back at the latter, for raising the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case against him, to target the Congress during poll campaign in Haryana. Alleging that there are many corrupt people in the BJP, he asked the prime minister to correct things within his party first. “There are many corrupt people in his...

Manipur: Shutdown in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi affects life IMPHAL — Suspected militants fired at a village in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday, police said. Armed men fired indiscriminately at Mongbung Meitei village from nearby hilltops and surrounding thick forests prompting retaliation from village volunteers in the area, they said. Quoting villagers, a police officer said several women, children and elderly are being evacuated to safer places. Security forces have been rushed to control the situation, he said, adding that no casualties...

Forget about holding any elections under the archaic Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 It is beyond reasonable acceptability to understand why a group known as the “Imphal Naga Forum” has asked the State government to hold elections to the District Councils. They have clarified that it was done by some vested persons and not by the group. Whatever the reasons, it has become crucial for the Nagas of Manipur to realise that there are vested interest groups collaborating...

IMPHAL — The Opposition Congress in Manipur on Wednesday filed an FIR against three BJP leaders and a Shiv Sena member over alleged threats made against the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. Manipur unit Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh accompanied by other party leaders went to a police station here, and lodged a complaint against Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, Delhi BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah, Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay...

DIMAPUR — Nagaland and Manipur registered their respective wins on the opening day of the 2nd NECDC Senior Men’s Interstate Friendship Tournament, informed a press release on Monday. In the first match of the tournament, Nagaland defeated Sikkim by 6 wickets at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Chümoukedima. The highlight of the game was Khrievitso Kense who took an impressive 5-wicket haul while conceding only 19 runs, earning him the Player of the Match title. The award was presented by...

IMPHAL — Security forces recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including “large rockets” during search operations and area domination conducted in fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley districts of Manipur, police said. “One rocket (approx. 5.5ft), one rocket (approx. 3ft), one large size country-made mortar, two medium size country-made mortars, four mortar bombs (country-made), two pistols with magazine, 9 live ammunition rounds, one single-barrel rifle, explosives grade-2 (6.3kg), cortex 17 metre, fuse 9 metre, were  recovered...

NEW DELHI — Amid the lingering crisis in Manipur, Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam raises pointed questions over the Centre’s “inaction”, suggesting that such a situation would not have been left unaddressed if it happened in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In an interview with PTI Videos, Akoijam vehemently criticised the Centre’s handling of the situation in Manipur, asking why the government of India was allowing the northeastern state to become like Afghanistan, which he described as a...

NEW DELHI — Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said both the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur must learn to live and co-exist together. Ethnic violence has been going on in Manipur since May 3 last year after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts of the northeastern state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. More than 220 people, including...

“There can be no solution if you pick up arms” NEW DELHI — Union minister Kiren Rijiju requested the people of ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Saturday to shun arms and come to the negotiation table to find a lasting solution for peace in the state. Addressing the North East Students’ Festival organised by NGO “My Home India”, Rijiju said the northeast is witnessing unprecedented development under the Narendra Modi government, providing a golden opportunity to the people of the region....