Mizo Police The Best in India

Aizawl, Mar 29 : The Mizoram police department is one of the best in India and because of this the state police personnel have been deployed even outside the state, said Mizoram sports minister Zodintluanga while inaugurating Mizoram Police Sports Meet  at Mualpui in Aizawl.

“Because of their perseverance and devoting nature for the state, the people of Mizoram are safe and living without fear with peace in their minds,” said the minister.

Expressing the possibility of closer ties between sports and police department, he said sports persons in the police department can also participate at the North East level and national level. Zodintluanga thanked the police sportsmen who bagged medals at the recently held Muay Thai Championship in Bangkok.

“The Mizoram police is indeed doing a great job in maintaining peace and tranquility in the state. Securing the safety of the citizens and providing an efficient and just administration at all levels of governance has been a top priority of the Mizoram police,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, a senior police officer informed NNN that  there has been no major outbreak of law and order in the State during the past years mainly due to the concerted efforts of the efficient law enforcing agencies of Mizoram, non-governmental organisations, religious institutions, the media and the general public.

The police force is being provided with the latest equipment, advanced weaponry, efficient fleet of vehicles and building infrastructures to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness under the Police Modernization Scheme, the officer added.

“Mizoram is one of the frontrunners in implementation of the Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network System (CCTNS) Project in the country. The Economic Offences Wing and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit have managed to solve a number of cases pertaining to economic offences, cyber crimes and human trafficking during this year,” claimed the police officer.

UN Rapporteur To Submit Northeast Human Rights Report

Guwahati, Mar 29 : The United Nations will soon send recommendations to the Central government on the issues of human rights violations in the northeast. Visiting the region for the first time, Chirstof Heyns, UN special Rapporteur has received cases of alleged rights violation in NE states.

Heyns said he will would address the grievances of the victims of human rights abuse and submit a report to the Centre. "I am here to study and receive cases of rights violation. The process is not intended to change the law but to submit recommendations to the government for appropriated action," he said.

Accusing the state security forces of killing many in fake encounters, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) of Assam told Heyns about how rights are crushed in the state. "There were many cases like Namsai, where three youths were killed in alleged fake encounters. Moreover, the state has witnessed the killing of human right activist Parag Das. MASS has also asked the UN to act on the draconian Arm Forces (Special Power) Act in force in the region," said Aditya Lahkar, MASS secretary general.

Advocate Sabda Rabha who presented a paper on 'Extra Judicial killing of children in NE India' before the UN representative said: "In many cases National Human Rights' Commission guidelines are not adhered to. I have submitted a report on this." Heyns also took note of the growing killing of women in rural Assam in the name of witch hunting and other superstitions.

Mizoram Forms Panel For Border Disputes With Assam, Tripura

Aizawl, Mar 28 : The Mizoram government has formed a five-member committee to resolve the boundary disputes with neighbouring Assam and Tripura, an official said Tuesday.

"The boundary committee headed by former minister C. Chawngkunga would study the long-running inter-state border line row and would make recommendations to the state government at the earliest," a senior land revenue and settlement department official told reporters.

According to the official, the state boundary committee was constituted last week after the central government has ignored the pleas of the state government to form a boundary commission for resolving the disputes.

The long unsettled Mizoram-Assam, Meghalaya-Assam and Arunachal Pradesh-Assam boundary disputes occasionally creates troubles between the villagers and officials of these states.

However, a senior Tripura government official, when contacted, told IANS that the state government is not aware of any boundary disputes with Mizoram.

Meghalaya was formed in January 1972 while Mizoram became a state in 1987. Tripura and Manipur were sovereign princely states, which became part of India.

Myanmarese Police Officials Learn English in Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 28 : Twenty-eight Myanmarese police officials are undergoing one-month crash course in English at Champhai town on the Mizoram-Myanmar border, as part of an agreement between India and the neighboring country.

The police officials, led by Inspector P I Thein Zau were all graduates and second lieutenants, an official statement said. The course began yesterday.

They are being given training in English language by principal of DIET, Champhai, R Lalthianghlima, the statement said.

The programme was an implementation of the agreement made at the border talks held between India and Myanmar on October 18 last year.

Two teachers of Champhai schools were working as interpreters as the Myanmarese officials could neither speak English nor Mizo.

FireHouse To Rock Northeast India

FireHouse returns as part of Rock to Rescue tour, with venues in Manipur and Nagaland

By Alipta Jena

Calcutta, Mar 28 : In 2004, an American band set the house on fire in Shillong. Eight years later, FireHouse is returning to rock the region on April 7 and 10 with timeless numbers like Hold your Fire and When I look into your eyes, during the Rock to Rescue tour of Nagaland and Manipur.

This time, their drums and guitars will play for a cause at DDSC stadium in Kohima and Khuman Lampak stadium in Imphal.

Organised by 7 Sisters Entertainment, a Sky Group venture, the proceeds of the tour will be spent in aid of old age homes and special children in association with Queensberry Foundation in Nagaland.

It will also raise funds to help create awareness on HIV/AIDS in Manipur in association with the Manipur State Aids Control Society.

The hard rock band, which was formed at Charlotte in North Carolina in 1989, reached stardom in the early 1990s. At present, it comprises lead vocalist and founding member C.J. Snare, guitarist Bill Leverty, drummer Michael Foster and bass guitarist Allen McKenzie.

Snare promises that “everyone will leave the show with a smile on their face and a memory of FireHouse to last a lifetime”. He adds, “We truly love performing in India. The people are so friendly. They always welcome us with open arms and show a genuine appreciation for our music.”

In December 2004, FireHouse had played in Shillong, followed by Dimapur and Aizawl. Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman, also known as Pradyot Bikram Kishore Deb Burman, a scion of the Tripura royal family, had also invited them to perform in Agartala. The show set a record for the city with 40,000 tickets being sold.

A decade later, the band still manages to inspire music lovers all across the world. “FireHouse has a huge following in the Northeast. We are putting up shows in places where they have not performed and where there is a huge fan base,” Sunny Shimrah of 7 Sisters Entertainment says.

This time, the band has plenty of surprises up its sleeve. “We have added a lot to the show since our last performances in India. We will be performing all the hits. But the beauty of a live concert is that you never know what might happen,” says Snare.

In the meantime, he says, “FireHouse has tried many different approaches to a lot of the music that falls within the parameters of our genre.”

“We also recently released a new CD called Full Circle, which allowed us to get back in the studio in 2011 and re-record some of the band’s and the fan’s favourites over the last 21 years,” Snare added.

He also speaks of their future ventures. “Some of us have ventured outside the band with side projects. Bill has released solo instrumental CDs, His vocals have a more southern, blues rock feel. I have released Christmas singles as well as a modern hard rock project called Rubicon Cross. I will also release a solo CD, From Asia With Love, in 2013. The concert declaration has received a huge response, with many fans clamouring for tickets.

Probin Sharma, an entrepreneur from Guwahati, is excited about the event. “I don’t mind shelling out the money for the event. I have always loved their numbers. Watching the band performing live is another experience altogether. It’s just not the same on video sites,” he says.

Assam Police Worst Human Rights Violators

By Prabin Kalita

Guwahati, Mar 27 : Assam Police are the biggest violators of human rights in the state. According to a written reply by forest and environment minister Rockybul Hussain on behalf of home minister and chief minister Tarun Gogoi in the house on Monday, of the 94 cases in which the state human rights commission has issued orders, 46 are against the Assam Police.

The minister stated in his reply that 6,734 complaints of human rights violation have been settled so far and another 713 cases are pending. "To expedite the settlement of the remaining cases of rights violation, the commission is has been issuing summons from time to time," the minister stated.

The most gruesome of human rights violation committed by Assam Police is the blinding of one Anil Roy by a constable in Basistha police station in the city. The commission has issued an order to commissioner and secretary of home and political department to pay Rs 5 lakh to Roy. There is also recommendation to senior superintendent of police in the city to reprimand one sub-inspector Ajay Medhi for not registering an FIR.

According to the minister's reply, the commission has recommended action against 135 government officials so far. The minister's reply however had details of just 94 of these recommendations. The recommendations ordered by the commission against the Assam Police are disciplinary action against erring police officials and payment of compensation.

The highest compensation recommended by the commission is to health and family welfare department to pay Rs 10 lakh to one Souvik Shome and realization of the entire amount from the guilty professor of gynecology department Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. There are several recommendations by the commission to the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB), pollution control board, Of the 94 cases in which the state human rights commission has issued orders, 46 are against the Assam Police.

Forum Vows To Counter Tipaimukh

Push for micro projects

Silchar, Mar 27 : The North East Dialogue Forum, a joint forum of more than 50 civil society organisations in the Northeast, along with the Community for People and Environment said it would not yield an inch in its fight against the government’s decision to build Tipaimukh dam.

Addressing reporters here today, the forum’s convener, U. Nobokishore, said the Centre and the Manipur government were moving ahead with their mission to construct the controversial Tipaimukh dam and lower Subansiri dam in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, regardless of the greater interest and safety of the people downstream.

“We will not step back from our fight against the construction of the Tipaimukh dam. We have an alternative. If the government responds, we will be happy, if not, we will continue our movement,” said Nobokishore.

He added that if the Tipaimukh dam was constructed, 25,822.22 hectares of forest land in Manipur will be affected, which, in turn, will lead to the felling of as many as 7.8 million trees.

He went on to say the destruction will not be limited to only the woods, as it would also have a severe impact on livelihood and would also induce radical climate change.

He also spoke of the adverse impact of the proposed dam on the people of the Barak Valley, as there would be an obvious alteration of the river’s flow.

He said the department of earth science, Manipur University, carried out a survey investigating the possibility of over 130 micro hydel projects on the river Barak.

He also raised the demand that the Centre and the Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh governments must realise the dire consequences of these dams on the community livelihood and scrap these dams at the earliest. Rather, the government should try to construct micro-hydel projects.

Also, the Forum demanded that the Loktak Hydro Power project should be handed over to the government of Manipur within a year.

Pijush Kanti Das, the general secretary of the Community for People and Environment, who was also the co-host of the news conference, echoed Nobokishore saying a dam at an altitude of 181.8 metres will submerge 300 square km area in no time. Also, at a mere distance of 300 nautical miles, the dam would be an easy target for neighbouring nation China.

Moreover, expressing solidarity with Irom Sharmila in her battle against the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act from Manipur, both NEDF and COPE strongly demanded that the Centre must implement the recommendations of Jeevan Reddy Commission, the Second Administrative Reformed Commission of India and UN Committee on Racial Discrimination and repeal the act with immediate effect.

6 Abducted By Militants in Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 27 : At least six people, including residents of Assam, Punjab, and Rajasthan, were abducted by unidentified tribal guerrillas in a Mizoram district bordering Bangladesh Monday, police said here.

"Heavily armed unidentified militants raided a workshed at Bunghmum under Lunglei district early Monday and abducted six people," a police spokesman told reporters here.

The captives -- a manager and five supervisors of a Guwahati-based private company -- were posted at Lunglei district in southwestern Mizoram, 200 km south of Aizawl, to supervise the on-going work of border fencing.

Senior police officials along with reinforcements have rushed to the area and launched a combing operation to locate the hostages and nab the guerrillas.

"We are not sure whether the hostages were taken to Bangladesh or not. The state government has asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to seal the border to prevent the rebels from taking the captives to Bangladesh," the police official said.

Mizoram has an international border of 404 km with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh. The BSF has been guarding the Bangladesh border and troopers of the Assam Rifles were posted along the Myanmar border.

India is erecting a fence and putting up flood lighting all along the 4,095-km India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram to check trans-border movement of militants, prevent infiltration and check border crimes.