HC Asks Mizoram To Appeal Against 45 Acquittals

Aizawl, Sep 11 : The Aizawl Bench of the Gauhati High Court has asked the Mizoram government to appeal against all cases in which a lower court acquitted 45 people accused of executing a Rs 433 crore ponzi scheme that went bust in late 2008.

The court has also directed the government to submit its plan or steps it has taken taken to repay the thousands of families who lost their deposits in the scheme that has come to be known as chiahpuam, literally meaning “soak to swell”.

The HC’s order comes almost a year after the court registered a writ petition based on a depositors’ union’s letter to the Chief Justice complaining the state “failed to implement” a law that would protect depositors’ interests.

In the roughly two years the ponzi scheme was operational, collectors took crores of Rupees from depositors – including government officials, businessmen, professionals, faith-based organisations and pensioners– and circulated it among them, paying huge amounts of interests to some depositors by using the money invested by other depositors before the scheme eventually went bust.

Police eventually seized 46 land titles, 42 vehicles, 59 bank passbooks, valuables worth Rs 10 lakhs and about Rs 7 crores in cash which were connected with the scam. A total of 45 people were arrested and charged under the Indian Penal Code.

Affidavits filed in the HC by the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police put the total amount of money involved in the scam at a little over Rs 433.80 crores although the police was able to recover only Rs 12.13 crores after auctioning off the seized materials on the orders of a lower court.

The amount has since been transferred to the Deputy Commissioner on the directions of the lower court, which last October also acquitted all 45 accused.

The depositors’ union then wrote to the CJ, and the HC eventually took up the case and asked the government what steps it was taking to pay back the recovered amount to the depositors and why it had not challenged the acquittal of the 45 accused.

Another depositors’ body meanwhile curiously asked the HC to dismiss the petition saying they were happy with the lower court’s decision. The HC has since turned down the submission.

The state government replied to the HC saying the cases registered against the 45 accused were criminal cases and therefore the provisions of a law to protect the interests of depositors – called the Mizoram Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial establishments) Act 2002 – did not apply.

The government’s reply also included a submission by the public prosecutor, who gave several reasons for not challenging the acquittals, including that the depositors “all [took] the risks to get good returns” and that “if someone is to blame for this, they are all to blame.”

The HC slammed the government’s reply as “wholly inadequate”, and the government has since told the HC the money has been handed over to the Deputy Commissioner.

The HC has subsequently asked the government to file revisions in or appeal against all the cases the 45 accused were acquitted, and asked the Aizawl Deputy Commissioner to inform the court by October 22 what steps have been taken to enforce the law protecting depositors relevant to the case.
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Day 5 of Manipur Blockade: Government Climbs Down, Protestors Defiant

By Alok Pandey

Imphal, Sep 11 :  Five days after the United Naga Council imposed a highway blockade in Manipur, the state government has withdrawn prohibitory orders imposed under section 144 in the town of Ukhrul.

But the United Naga Council, which had imposed the boycott, is not in a re-conciliatory mood and has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi should intervene in the situation.

The prohibitory orders, which have been in force for more than two months, were imposed after a member of the Ukhrul autonomous district council Ngalangzar Malue was killed by unidentified people.

Various Naga organisations protested against the order which prohibits more than 4 people assembling in a public place.

On August 31, two protestors of the United Naga Council were killed and several injured when police allegedly opened fire on a sec 144 protest rally held in Ukhrul.

The United Naga Council than imposed an indefinite blockade of all highways in Naga inhabited areas in Manipur from September 4.

Even though the state government has now backed down, the United Naga Council has said it will not back down till the Prime Minister directly intervenes.

In the meantime, 300 trucks carrying essential supplies like LPG and Fuel were brought in to the Imphal under heavy police escort on Sunday evening .

This was done via the alternative Jiribam - Imphal highway, that leads to the state capital.

The main highway into Imphal , the Guwahati - Dimapur - Kohima - Imphal road, continues to remain blocked

Despite the trucks reaching Imphal, petrol is not available at pumps while diesel is still being rationed . Rice, pulses and vegetables are however available in the city.

Gogoi Draws flak over official language circular for Barak Valley

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, Sep 11 : Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has come under attack from the opposition AGP and BJP, as well as from other groups over the state government withdrawing a circular regarding use of Assamese as official language in the three districts that comprise Barak Valley in southern Assam.

The Assam government had on November 30, 2013 issued a circular asking the deputy commissioners of all districts of the state to ensure use of Assamese as official language and submit a half-yearly report to the government on its implementation.

This had generated a lot of protests in the three Barak Valley districts – Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi – where Section 5 of the Assam Official Language Act 1960 as amended in 1967 had specified Bengali as the official language there.

While protests in the Barak Valley prompted the state government to issue a fresh circular on September 9 saying that the official language (Bengali) of Barak Valley will continue to be used for all official works, the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BJP have come down heavily on the Congress government of Tarun Gogoi for apparently withdrawing Assamese from the Barak Valley.

“This is a totally anti-Assamese decision of the Congress government. Moreover, the circular comes just three days ahead of crucial by-election to three assembly constituencies, two of which are in the Barak Valley, clearly revealing that it is intended at catching votes,” said AGP general secretary Kamala Kalita here today.

The state BJP unit too has hit out at Gogoi, with its president Siddhartha Bhattacharyya described the circular as one that wouldlead to further division of Assam. “This circular is a weird decision of Tarun Gogoi that will have long-term impact and cause irreparable damage to the state,” Bhattacharyya said. The BJP leader also said that Gogoi’s intention behind such a circular on the eve of the by-elections was to get votes through what he described as typical Congress politics.

Noted litterateur and former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Nagen Saikia too criticized the state government and said this would create linguistic tension. “I may sound harsh, but I feel this circular will create a rift between two linguistic communities of the state,” Saikia said.
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No-Frills Airports To Take Flight

By Sandeep Dikshit

Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Kishangarh in Rajasthan; Jharsuguda in Odisha; and Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka will soon get no-frills airports.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said here on Tuesday that these airports would have all the basic safety and security facilities, but no frills so as to keep capital cost and recurring expenses down.

The bells and whistles associated with metro airports — huge seating areas, food marts, phone-charging kiosks, shopping areas and so on — would be absent.The Minister, however, said they should not be called low-cost airports.

At a press conference to mark 100 days of the Modi government, he ruled out a bailout package for the airline industry, but said the Centre was actively engaged with the States to ensure lower operational costs in the form of reduced taxes.

“This is not a sector that is entitled to subsidies,” he said Mr. Raju said the Centre was in talks with the States to lower the tax on air turbine fuel.

Mr. Raju launched a “Know Your Rights” portal of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in case of inconvenience to passengers due to delayed flights, denial of boarding and lost or damaged baggage.

The DGCA has made special provisions for disabled passengers such as blocking two window seats for them till 24 hours before departure.

First Khasi And Mishmi Books For Children

By Kanika Sharma

Make most of two unique re-tellings of folktales from the North-East — the first children’s books in the languages of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya

Chennai-based children’s publishing house Tulika Books has introduced two picture books on International Literacy Day (September 8) — Race of the Rivers and Hambreelmai’s Loom. Khasi writer Esther Syiem has retold the folktale of Ka lew and Ka Ngot, two friends who love to play on the hilltops of Meghalaya. Syiem, an English literature lecturer and author is known for her study of folk literature.

Hambreelmai’s Loom, retold by Mamang Dai, pictures by Kalyani Ganpathy, Tulika Books, Rs 150. Available at leading bookstores. 

Hambreelmai’s Loom, on the other hand, has been narrated by Mamang Dai echoing the beautiful sounds of the Mishmi language from Arunachal Pradesh. The story’s protagonist is Hambreelmai who is the first weaver taught by the goddess Matai. Mamang Dai is a Padma Shri poet and novelist, who is currently a part of the Arunachal Pradesh Service Commission.


Race of the Rivers, retold by Esther Syiem, pictures by Benedict Hynniewta, Tulika Books, Rs 150. Available at leading bookstores. 

Both books have been meticulously illustrated by Benedict Hynniewta (for Race of the Rivers) and Kalyani Ganapathy (for Hambreelmai’s Loom).

As is Tulika Books’ norm, the two picture books have been published in nine languages. However, given the special status of these two books, they are also being published in their local languages making them the first Khasi book for children and first Mishmi book ever. Explore the incredulity of the North-East exposing your child to enigmatic tales for life by grabbing these books now.

Chinese Woman Publishes First-Ever Travelogue On India

Chinese travel writer Hong Mei at the India-Pakistan border at Wagah with her American husband Tom Carter.

The author Hong Mei called it a transformative journey about India's rich and diverse culture

A brush with Bollwood stars, encounters with Maoists besides exposure to election campaigning enlivens the narrative of a rare backpack Chinese woman's transformative journey to the nooks and corners of India. Hong Mei, 34, who travelled India for several months in 2009 along with her American husband, Tom Carter released her travelogue book in Chinese language titled "The further I walk, the closer I get to me", stated to be the first such account by a contemporary Chinese about India.

In many ways it is a transformative journey about India's rich and diverse culture, she told PTI

During the visit, she participated in festivals and events like Kumbh Mela, Pushkar Camel Fair, Holi besides the general elections campaigning in 2009.

Pushed by Tom, who had done a pictorial book along with her on all the 33 provinces of China highlighting its diversity, Hong had relatively comfortable travel in India as she was mostly mistaken as someone from India's North-East provinces or from Japan.

Travelling with a budget of about USD 20 a day, the twohad a good exposure to Indian way of life in the North, South and Western regions.

Tom was chosen as 10th batsman in a cricket match scene in the Bollywood movie Dil Bole Hadippa.

While in Mumbai, Hong had an insightful exposure to 2009 elections as the candidates canvassed in a festive spirit.

For someone hailing from country with a One-Party-rule (Communist Party), it was a spectacle of political harmony.

Both had an enduring experience feeling the heat travelling in areas where Maoists are active in Orissa.

Significantly Hongs accounts of elections as well as her Maoist encounters were edited out of book as authorities in China were cagey about such narratives influencing the Chinese.

Hong Mei poses with a tribal child in Odisha.

The two had close calls travelling to India’s border areas with Pakistan in the Kutch region of Gujarat as well as the Wagah border point on the Indian side of Punjab.

Her best moments in India were taking part in the cultural festivals like Holi and the worst part was she missed her regular intake of food due to excess exposure to vegetarian food in India while Tom fell sick grappling with poor immune system.

Hong said her ground breaking backpacking journey to India illustrates a growing trend among new Chinese middle classes to quit their jobs to hit the roads abroad.

Indian travels in a way impacted her as she says the religious fervour in India had left a mark of influence as she turned spiritual.

She is also thinks that despite trying conditions, Indians appeared happier compared to their Chinese counterparts despite their material success.

Manipuri Woman Stabbed in Dwarka By A Driver; Accused Held

 New Delhi, Sep 10 : A Manipuri woman paid the price for being upright and exposing wrong deeds of an employee of her company. The man was sacked and he decided to take revenge.

 

Since he was aware of her residence, he stabbed her in the market. A 31-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a Manipuri woman Monday evening near her house in Dwarka Sector 22 in southwest Delhi.

 

The accused identified as Rohit Francis had attacked the girl with an associate.

He was a driver in the construction company in Gurgaon where the victim Silvia Vaiphei (30) used to work.

"Vaiphei worked in the accounts department of the company and she had caught Francis submitting false bills to the office. On her complaint, he was sacked. The man held a grudge against her for this and attacked her last night to take revenge," said a police official.

Francis knew her residence as he had dropped her there several times. Vaiphei had also quit the job sometime later.

Vaiphei, who lives with her sister and brother-in-law in Dwarka Sector 22, had gone to the market around 6 pm when the two men stabbed her and fled the spot.

Francis has been booked for attempt to murder and efforts are on to nab his associate, police said.

India Set to Import 100,000 Tonnes of Rice From Burma

Burma will supply 100,000 tonnes of rice to India, to meet the need for the commodity in the states of Mizoram and Manipur (PHOTO:wikicommons).

By BINNY MARY PAUL

India, the largest rice exporter in the world, is set to import around 100,000 tonnes of rice from Burma, which was once the largest exporter of the commodity.

The move is a result of logistical bottlenecks that will hinder the transportation of rice to the northeastern states of India. The rice import is a preventive measure to avoid a supply crisis in the states of Manipur and Mizoram, where a railway construction project is underway.

In the absence of feasible transport routes to connect Mizoram and Manipur with the rest of India during this phase, the Food Corporation of India will import rice from Burma, which is well connected by road to these northeastern Indian states, according to a report in the Indian daily, The Economic Times.

Though what seems like a temporary arrangement, the move seems to further calibrate India’s “Look East” policy, in which bilateral relations with Burma have always been prioritized to combat Chinese monopoly in the region.

All efforts to increase India’s bilateral trade with Burma are viewed as an essential and natural strategy to increase Indian influence within a country that it shares much with, including a colonial history and a 1,009-mile border.

The decision to import rice from Burma, even despite surplus production at home, fosters a mutually inclusive economic understanding between the two countries, which are both competitors in South Asia for rice export.

The rice import also provides an opportunity for India to explore and identify the potential capacity of the northeastern states, volatile with secessionist and insurgent groups, but also shares an extensively vast percentage of its borderlines with regional neighbours. According to a report published by Gateway House, an Indian think tank, the exchange of commodities between India and Burma via its northeastern terrain will aid India in tapping into the hitherto neglected role that northeast can play in further strengthening the trade possibilities between the two countries.

At present, it is unclear whether the trade route will be via the Chittagong port or via land routes, although The Economic Times suggests the latter. Interestingly if the trade is to be via road, it will be carried out across the commonly disputed borderlines of Burma and India. The landscape of northeast India, which merges relatively seamlessly into Burmese territory, has been a belt of narcotic activity and arms trading, and is also infested with insurgent rebel groups on either side of the border.
Former Indian military commander, Rahul Bhonsle, who spearheads Security-Risks.com/South Asia, explained to DVB about the need to buckle up security at either ends of the trade routes. “In the case of the land route being used, adequate checks [must be implemented] to ensure that the [rice] transportation is not used by the criminal and militant nexus operating across the borders to their advantage,” said Bhonsle.

The increasing importance of transport routes via India and Burma as a priority was emphasised at the fifth annual Indo-US strategic dialogue. The strategic importance of building transport trade routes via Burma serves a twofold purpose for India: increasing trade connectivity; and serving as a strategic entry portal into Southeast Asia.

For Burma, the export deal with India comes at a time when the rice industry faces stiff competition from its neighbours; the Myanmar Rice Federation demanded tangible rice policies earlier this year to match the level of surplus production of other rice-exporting countries.

The latest five-year national export strategy, unveiled by the Burmese government on 5 September, has accredited rice exports to be of “highest importance” in 2014-15, reported Oryza, a leading rice industry publication..

“The [Burmese] government is planning to explore newer markets for its rice exports,” it said, part of a strategy to revive Burma’s once famed rice export legacy.

With this deal underway, India will be importing rice after almost three decades.