Extortion Via Texts: New Trend For Northeast India Rebels

Shillong, Oct 13 : Sit in a hideout and demand money through text messages from cellphones.

This trend is catching up with many militant outfits of the Northeast who are using the method to avoid arrest.

Following the example of the nascent Garo hills-based Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) formed by former Meghalaya police official Champion Sangma, Ulfa has also started sending demand notes through text messages to government officials and businessmen.

A case in point is the complaint of M.D. Arengh, the block development officer of Resubelpara in East Garo Hills, who lodged an FIR that on October 4, he had received a text message demanding Rs 5 lakh from Dipar Rabha, a cadre of Ulfa’s 109 battalion.

East Garo Hills shares its border with Assam and the police have confirmed regular movement of Ulfa militants along the Assam-Meghalaya border after they cross over to Garo hills from Bangladesh.

The police said the main area of operations of Ulfa’s 109 battalion is the entire Garo hills and in the past, Meghalaya police had either shot dead or arrested several Ulfa operatives in Garo hills.

It was first the GNLA which started sending text messages to demand money from the government officials and businessmen.

The GNLA had demanded Rs 60 lakh through a text message from Williamnagar transport official R. Syngkon and the failure on his part to pay the ransom had forced the militants to abduct him on September 30.

The police suspect that the GNLA and Ulfa militants, active in Garo hills, work in tandem to extort money from government officials and businessmen.

Meghalaya home minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh said the home department wanted the aggrieved people to report to the police if they continue to receive demands for money through text messages so that action could be taken.

“We are appealing to the people that if they receive demand notes by any form, they should first report them to the police,” Lyngdoh said.

However, the militants resorting to “text message extortion” is a cause of concern for Meghalaya police.

A senior police official said the militants send text messages to demand money as they consider it as a safe method compared to sending the demand notes through other cadres or messengers, who are likely to get caught by security personnel.

After they send the first text message to any government official or businessman, reminder messages are also sent subsequently.

“Earlier, we tried to verify the text messages demanding money, sent by the militants. This, however, did not give any result as the cellphones through which the text messages were sent belonged to people with fictitious names,” a police official from East Garo Hills said.

Many SIM cards used by the militants were registered either in Nagaland, Manipur or Mizoram.

Concerned over the militants procuring SIM cards in fictitious names from various parts of the Northeast, chief minister Mukul Sangma, in a meeting with the police officials and deputy commissioners in August, had stressed the need to adopt an effective mechanism to check the trend.

Naga Varsity VC Charged With Corruption

Kohima, Oct 13 : The agitating teachers of Nagaland University have charged the vice-chancellor and some officials of the university with largescale corruption and dissatisfied with CBI findings, have sought a fresh probe into financial anomalies.

The Nagaland University Teachers’ Association is preparing to move court to address their grievances.

After filing an RTI inquiry, the association found that vice-chancellor professor K. Kannan has 180 fixed deposits in various banks in Kohima.

He has been accused of flouting the university’s norms, rampant misappropriation of money, appointment of unqualified teachers, irregularities in examination and sexual harassment.

Kannan, who will complete his five-year term next June, has been accused of being most corrupt person who had destroyed Nagaland University, sources said.

The fact-finding committee of the ministry of human resource development has implicated some of the officials of the university who were given a clean chit by the CBI.

The teachers, students and staff of the university have filed several complaints against the incumbent vice-chancellor.

A seven-member team of the teachers’ association met CBI director Ashini Kumar. “The director was also unhappy with the way the officials in Calcutta had conducted an investigation,” said Rosemary Dzuvichu, the president of the Central Executive Council of NUTA.

Demanding a fresh probe, the association decided to file a case against the vice-chancellor in court.

The state government has also constituted a cabinet sub-committee headed by planning minister T.R. Zeliang. The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has also submitted its own findings to the state government.

The association said some state politicians have been lobbying for the vice-chancellor just for monetary gain. Despite a hue and cry from the teachers and the staff of the university, Kannan has not called for a university court meeting where they discuss the utilisation of funds.

The ministry of human resource development has assured the teachers of a fresh CBI probe into the irregularities. The association has also written to President Pratibha Patil about the irregularities committed by the CBI by availing of the hospitality of the vice-chancellor under investigation and demanded a fresh probe.

DIG, 2 Others Suspended Over Fratricidal Killing in Manipur

Imphal, Oct 13 : Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel including a post commander have been suspended for their alleged “failure in commanding a post” in the aftermath of a fratricidal killing in Manipur.

The other two suspended personnel include one sector commander and one constable in the sentry post.

The suspension order of AK Raghubir, DIG(Ops) CRPF followed after Monday’s carnage wherein four CRPF troopers of 143 battalion, deployed at Food Corporation of India warehouse at Sangaiprou in Imphal West district, lost their lives in fratricidal violence after a heated altercation over an alleged leave petition.

The bodies of the deceased CRPF troopers – Constables Fobin Mohan, 27 of Wayanad district, Pradeep RV Nair, 28 of Thiruvananthapuram district, Shine Rajanna, 29 of Pathanamthitta, all from Kerala and P Iswara Rao, 37 of Andhra Pradesh, have been flown to their respective States by a chartered aircraft of the paramilitary force following a brief ‘guard of honour’ at Tulihal airport near Imphal today.

Meanwhile, one Commandant Sanjeev Kumar of 86 Batallion of CRPF will conduct an inquiry to establish what led to the incident. The inquiry will be completed within two weeks time, a senior CRPF officer said.

Action will be taken up as per the law of the land. The Lamphel Police station in Imphal had already registered a case in connection with the Monday’s incident.

NEEPCO to Fast-Track 60-mw Tuirial Project in Mizoram

By RINALINI PRASAD

North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd has approached the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to approve its 60-mw Tuirial hydroelectric project in Aizawl district of Mizoram at a total revised cost of around 914 crore, including interest during construction of 37 crore.
The project cost will comprise equity of 137 crore, loans of 185 crore from financial institutions, subordinate loan of 292 crore from Government of India, and grant of 300 crore from Department of North Eastern Region.

The project has suffered time and cost overrun with respect to the original sanctioned cost mainly due to law and order problems, change in design, and delay in tendering and awarding contracts.
Based on funding of the project, the power tariff works out to 3.75 per Kwh in the first year followed by a levelised tariff of 4.40 per Kwh.

Recommending the Tuirial project in June this year, the Project Investment Board directed NEEPCO to submit the proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. However, the board asked the utility to obtain a commitment from the Mizoram government that there would be no law and order problem so that the hydel project could be completed within the revised completion schedule of three years from the date the CCEA approved it. Besides, all issues pertaining to rehabilitation and resettlement, including the demand for crop compensation, should be sorted out by the state government.

The Project Investment Board also asked NEEPCO to sign the power purchase agreement with the Mizoram government to purchase power from Tuirial at the tariff determined by CERC.

Background
The Tuirial hydroelectric project was initially taken up as a central sector scheme by NEEPCO and the project investment of around 369 crore was approved in July 1998. The project was to be financed with a debt-equity ratio of 85:15. The debt portion was to be financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency and the balance through equity from the Government of India. The project was to be completed eight years from the date of approval of investment.

However, work on the project stopped from June 2004 due to protests by the local people who demanded crop compensation on forest land. About 30 per cent of the project work and 95 per cent of design and engineering works before the project came to a standstill. Subsequently, in June 2009, the loan agreement with JICA was terminated.

In a survey by Central Electricity Authority, power demand in Mizoram has been projected at 115 mw in 2011-12. The allocation from all existing central sector stations to the state is about 51 mw while Mizoram has its own generation through the 22.92-mw Bairabi DG plant. The total hydropower potential is 2,196 mw against which no capacity has been developed so far, and Tuirial is the only major hydro project currently under development in Mizoram.

Project Profile

Project
Tuirial hydroelectric project

Capacity
60 mw (2x30)

Developer
North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd

Location
Aizawl district, Mizoram

Estimated Cost
914 crore (revised)

Minka Kelly is Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive for 2010

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Here are a couple of photos of the 'Friday Night Lights' cheerleader, see the rest here.

PHOTOS:

Mamit Town in Mizoram Sinks More Than 20 Feet

By Harmeet Shah Singh

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Heavy rain has apparently weakened porous rock underground
• About 250 residents have been displaced
• Forty-three houses have been dismantled as a precaution
• A nonprofit plans to build new homes for them

New Delhi, Oct 12 : A remote Indian town has sunk at least 20 feet, displacing about 250 residents, officials said Tuesday.

A small crack first appeared on the surface of the town of Mamit in the mountainous northeastern state of Mizoram in 1994, officials said.

The expanding cavity reached a critical stage this year, forcing authorities to evacuate at least 61 families, said Zothankhuma, the town's deputy commissioner.

The ground caved in more than 20 feet, he said. Heavy rain in June apparently weakened porous rock underground.

Forty-three houses have been dismantled as a precaution, according to officials.

Displaced residents are temporarily living in schools, community centers and village-council offices, said Zothankhuma, who goes by one name.

A nonprofit organization plans to start building new homes for them in about two weeks, he added.

Geologists do not expect the earth to sink further, but many residents have been granted land in another neighborhood to build anew, Zothankhuma said.

Mizoram is India's Christian-majority state, jutting between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

via CNN

550 Killed By Cancer Every Year in Mizoram

Aizawl, Oct 12 : Cancer claims lives of 550 people on average annually in Mizoram which has been rightly dubbed as the 'cancer capital of India.' A report of Mizoram Population Base Cancer Registry (MPBCR) has revealed that cancer killed 3,302 people from 2003 to 2008, with 6,748 new cases detected during the same period.

About 194.5 male and 155.7 female of every one lakh people contracted cancer in 2003-04, the report said.

In 2005-06, new cases of the disease were detected in 191.5 male and 155.0 female out of every one lakh people.

In 2007-08, 180.6 male and 156.0 female of every one lakh people contracted cancer.
Stomach cancer was found to be the most common, constituting 23.1 per cent, followed by lung cancer (13 per cent), esophageal cancer (12.2 per cent) and hypopharynx cancer (4.6 per cent).

Within two years, 421 new cases of stomach cancer and 323 new cases of lung cancer were detected, the reported highlighted.

Lung cancer has developed to be the most common cancer among Mizo women which, according to the report, was due to the prevalence of smoking among the fairer sex.

It was followed by uterine cancer, the report said, adding that breast cancer would soon overtake uterine cancer among Mizo women.

The PBCR report stated that the state has the highest incidence of cancer in India among male and female, stomach cancer (male and female), lung cancer (male and female), uterine cancer, nasopharynx cancer (male) during 2003-2006.

At present, Mizoram has the second highest incidence of esophageal cancer (male) and third in hypopharynx cancer (male) in the country.

The state capital is among the top in stomach cancer in male and female in the world.

The lifestyle of the people of the state, especially their extensive consumption of tobacco coupled with consumption of smoked meat and vegetables resulted in the high incidence of cancer, the report said.

Currently, Mizoram tops all the states of India in consumption of tobacco, according to the National Health Survey-III (2005 and 2006).

Dr Jane R Ralte, officer-on-special duty and head of the Tobacco Cessation Clinic in the Aizawl Civil Hospital, confirmed the fact that tobacco chewing and smoking is highly prevalent among Mizo people.

As much as 22.1 per cent of the women indulge in smoking whereas the national figure is only 2.5, Dr Ralte stated.

She said 60 per cent of Mizo women are using other forms of tobacco (not smoking) while the national average is only 12.4 per cent.

''According to the National Family Health Survey conducted in 1998-99, Mizoram was in the first position in tobacco consumption, which is clearly indicative of the fact that Mizoram leads in cancer incidence,'' she added.

Mizo Man Held in Goa Trafficking Case

Panaji, Oct 12 : Mizoram police on Saturday arrested one Vanlalruati, the main contact person of Goa based Lotus beauty parlour owner Shanta alias Laxmi Mishra, who allegedly trafficked girls from Mizoram to Goa for sexual exploitation.

They will soon approach the court to take Mishra on a transfer warrant to Mizoram as she is the main accused in the case. Vanlalruati alias Vli Ramhlun, had hired the three Mizo girls, including a minor, to work in the beauty parlour at Porvorim, where they were forced to do sex work.

Laxmi Mishra, along with four traffickers, is in Goa police custody. They were arrested on Saturday night after a raid was conducted on the beauty parlour.

SP (Aizawl) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said, "We have arrested Vanlalruati and two other accused for trafficking girls from Mizoram to Goa. We will also seek the owner of Lotus beauty parlour's custody as it was here that the girls were forced into flesh trade".

In their complaint to Mizoram police, relatives of the trafficked girls have revealed that Vanlalruati had hired the girls to work in Lotus beauty parlour and they were brought to Goa by one Alex of Manipur. They arrived in Goa on September 4, 2010 and Mizoram police is now trying to trace Alex.

Meanwhile, another accused, Mohammad Alam from Mizoram, who would also traffic girls from the Northeast to Goa has been arrested by the Mizoram police on Saturday.

"While the three girls started working in the aforesaid Lotus parlour, they found out that their activity was none other than flesh trade. So, the above stated three girls started resisting to work like sex workers in the Lotus parlour for which they were also beaten up by the owner," the relatives have stated in their complaint.

According to Mizoram police, investigations have revealed that the customers used to deposit advance payment at the reception counter of the beauty parlour. When these three Mizo girls refused to submit to the desire of a customer, he claimed back a part of his advance payment amounting to ` 7,000, stating that the workers failed to entertain him as per his payment.

The girls later contacted one person who works in a hotel at Porvorim. This person sheltered the girls in Goa as they couldn't return home due to scarcity of money in their possession and fear of intervention by Mishra, said sources. However, the Crime branch rescued the girls on Saturday.