5 Arrested For Cyber Offence in Mizoram

Aizawl, Jan 16 : Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana today said the state police has arrested five persons for spreading false information on social media.

Addressing a press conference in Aizawl, Lalzirliana said that Ruth Chalthansawmi (23) of Aizawl and her four accomplices were arrested on charges of spreading false information in the social media.

The accused allegedly posted on social networking site Facebook that a girl was gangraped and the victim died after being brought to the Aizawl Civil Hospital.

The 'news' sent shock waves in the capital city which was rocked by the massacre of five members of a family on Friday night last.

The cyber accused were booked under Section 66 of the IT Act and Section 203 of the IPC.

Police were interrogating to know why they resorted to such act of spreading false information, the minister said.

State IGP Zorammawia said that 50 people have been booked under cyber law since 2009 with 24 people booked during last year.

Rajyavardhan Rathore says discrimination against North East Indians a 'problem of both sides'

Aizawl, Jan 16 :  Speaking on discrimination faced by the people from the North Eastern Region in other parts of the country, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Thursday said the problem lies with both sides and it's a result of "cross-alienation".

Speaking on discrimination faced by the people from the North Eastern Region in other parts of the country, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Thursday said the problem lies with both sides and it's a result of "cross-alienation".

"We get to hear about the discrimination faced by people from North East in popular media. I feel it is an issue of cross-alienation. The problem is from both the sides.

"A smile or a casual greeting can break the ice. It is also the responsibility of our friends from that part of the country to prevent themselves from being alienated," Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rathore said. At an inter-state student exchange programme organised by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Rathore also spoke about certain measures being taken to stop "brain drain" from the region.

"The best minds of the region are moving out. The central government has zeroed in on two factors to curb this trend. We are working to build strong transportation and communication facilities in the region. Steps are being taken to convince industries to set up their business in the region," he said.
The Union Minister said the government is underlining the importance of an "Act East policy" going the beyond the 'Look East' policy through a slew of initiatives to promote the interest of the region.

"Though the UPA government talked about 'Look East' policy, we have underlined the importance of an 'Act East' policy," he said. According to Rathore, the government is planning to launch three more news channels for the North Eastern Region, in addition to the one launched in Arunachal Pradesh last year.

"We also have plans to open more AIR and community radio stations in the region. A permanent location for the IIMC building in Aizawl is being worked out along with the setting up of a film Institute in the North East," he said.

Stating legislations can help solve problems "only to an extent", Rathore underscored the need for greater exchanges between the people of the region and the rest of the country.

"The government is working to solve the out-of-sight out-of-mind situation regarding the northeast. Legislations can only help in solving a problem to an extent. Various non-governmental efforts are required for greater exchange," he said.

Mizoram Lifts 17-year-Old Liquor Ban

Aizawl, Jan 15 : Mizoram today lifted the 17-year-old ban on consumption of liquor in the state nevertheless with strict punishment for drunken driving amd brawls in public places.

The state government enacted Mizoram Liquor Prohibition and Control Act (MLPC), 2014 coming into force today replacing the stringent Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act of 1995, Commissioner of Excise and Narcotics L Hmunsanga said.

The new legislation legalises consumption of liquor for the first time since last 17 years in the state.

The law however, would be extremely strict on drunken driving and drunken brawls in public places and would invite imprisonment for several months, the official said.

Though the MLPC Act was now in force, wine shops would be able to sell liquor only from March as preparations were in full swing for the implementation of the new law.

State Excise and Narcotics Minister R Lalzirliana had earlier hinted that retail wine shops would be run by sick PSUs like Mizoram Food and Allied Industries Ltd (MIFCO).

Forest guards gun down three poachers in Assam's Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga, Jan 15 : Three poachers were today killed in two encounters with forest guards in Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

On a tip off about the entry of a group of poachers into the Park, forest guards launched an operation in Burapahar Range, Divisional Forest Officer SK Sil Sarma said.

Guarding the park. Reuters

On facing the forest guards, the poachers fired at them and in an encounter one poacher was killed around 3 am near Borghat forest camp, Sarma said.

On being chased, the two fleeing poachers engaged in a fierce gun battle with the guards for about 25 minutes before they were killed, he said.

Two 303 rifles fitted with a silencer and one round of ammunition as well as a 9-mm pistol with nine rounds of ammunition were recovered from the slain poachers, the DFO said.

The poachers were suspected to have come from adjacent Karbi Anglong hills side, he said.

Patrolling against poaching in the World Heritage Site had been intensified after one rhino was killed on 1 January this year and two on 4 January, a forest department official said.

Police Investigate False Social Media News Alleging Gangrape, Murder

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Jan 14 : Police in Mizoram capital Aizawl have launched an investigation into who spread what has turned out to be false rumors alleging a gangrape and murder in a city neighborhood.

Rumours that seven men had gangraped and killed an unidentified woman in the Tuikhuahtlang locality began spreading on Whatsapp and other social media on Tuesday evening, quickly escalating to the point local leaders and police were kept on their toes trying to confirm if the incident did take place.

“We received many calls beginning around 6 pm inquiring if what was being said on social media was true. Some of us had even gathered together. It caused quite a stir in the locality,” said Vanlalfela, vice president of the locality’s Young Mizo Association unit.

Vanlalfela and other local leaders decided, after they realised the “news” was a hoax, to file a complaint with the police.

Police have registered an FIR under IPC section 203, which deals with the spread of wrong information, and section 66(A) of the IT Act. A senior officer said no arrests have been made by the time of filing this report.

The rapid spread of information about incidents, especially tragic ones, across Mizoram through social media has sometimes led to various law and order problems in the state.

Last week, thousands had gathered at the crime scene within the hour of a murder, some among the crowd turning violent as they demanded the suspect be handed over to them. In that incident, pictures of the victims’ bloody bodies also spread rapidly across the city as well as through the state.

In another recent murder case, pictures of the victim’s decomposing body also spread rapidly on social media.

Three dead, eight injured as vehicle falls into gorge in Mizoram

Aizawl, Jan 14 : Three people were killed and eight others injured after a vehicle they were travelling in fell about 600 metres into a gorge between the central Mizoram town of Thenzawl and Sialsuk village, police have said.

The inter-state maxicab bearing an Assam registration number (AS 01 C 3061) ferrying a dozen passengers was plying its usual route from Saiha in south Mizoram to Karimganj in south Assam when it met with an accident just before midnight on Monday.

Police said the three deceased persons have been identified as Taj Uddin Naharani, the driver, and Swapan Das and Kuton Roy, both from Katabari village in Karimganj district.

The surviving passengers said the vehicle met with an accident as it slowed down to allow another vehicle to overtake it from the rear and ran out of road and fell into the gorge.

Indo-Bangla Cell Phine Jam Plan

By Rining Lyngdoh

A mobile tower in a village on the Indo-Bangla border Shillong, Jan 14 : India and Bangladesh today agreed to approach telecom operators in their countries for a system to jam mobile phone signals on either side of the border to curb trans-boundary crimes. Officials of the border districts in Bangladesh and Meghalaya took the decision on the concluding day of the first two-day bilateral conference of deputy commissioners/district magistrates of both countries here. Security forces manning the international border are reportedly facing difficulties in curbing criminal activities owing to the active network of Bangladesh mobile service providers along the boundary. District officials from both countries today agreed they would take up the matter with the higher authorities to ask telecom operators to set up jammers along the border to block mobile signals. "The ability of miscreants and militants to communicate with their accomplices on the other side of the border by using Bangladesh SIM cards is a big concern for India," East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner Sanjay Goyal told reporters here. India's concern assumes significance in wake of the spread of terror modules in the northeastern states and West Bengal, which share a long border with Bangladesh. The countries share a 4,096km-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, which includes 262km in Assam, 856km in Tripura, 18km in Mizoram, 443km in Meghalaya and 2,217km in Bengal. Criminals are allegedly using Bangladesh SIM cards from areas close to the border to get in touch with their counterparts in the neighbouring country to avoid coming under the radar of Indian agencies that track cross-border calls. Recently, NIA sleuths probing the Burdwan blast found out that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives in Bengal used to go near the border and use Bangladesh SIM cards to make international calls. By doing so, they avoided routing the calls through networks of Indian service providers. By making calls near the border, they made use of signals from a tower in Bangladesh. "We have requested the deputy commissioners of the Bangladesh districts bordering the districts in Meghalaya to take up this issue with their respective telecom operators to put in place a technology which can restrict the coverage of mobile network along the international borders," Goyal said. He said both sides have mutually agreed to find a solution to the problem so that such technological loophole does not provide an advantage to miscreants or militants along the border. Indian security agencies admitted the miscreants could easily access SIM cards of Bangladesh companies like Grameen Phone along the border. Allegedly, a number of Bangladeshi nationals who managed to enter Indian side could carry out illegal activities by using SIM cards made in the neighbouring country. Indian exporters who deal with Bangladesh allegedly use Grameen Phone SIM cards to keep in touch with Bangladeshi importers when they do not get access from their local mobile phones. Indian telecom officials said owing to the geographical proximity, Bangladeshi cell phone networks could be accessed from areas in India that are close to the border by using SIM cards made in the neighbouring country. The Union telecom ministry had earlier entrusted the department to take steps to extend cellular services to all villages along the Indo-Bangla border so that people on the India side could connect with their relatives in Bangladesh. The department said the connection package includes laying of fibre optics and supplementing the services with optical rings and use of power grid networks and satellite media. Northeast MPs had also raised concern over the availability of mobile signals from Bangladesh in absence of Indian telecom service providers along the border. The MPs had pointed out that the frequent use of Bangladesh service providers by militant groups inside India, which poses a major security threat. In the past, Indian security forces had seized a number of Grameen Phone SIM cards from arrested militants.

Mahindra Group eyeing sizable share of scooter market in Northeast India

By Bikash Singh

Presently the company has 50 touch points which include dealers, sales and service points. The company is planning to increase it to 75 by December 2015.

GUWAHATI: Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited, a part of the US $16.5 billion Mahindra Group is eyeing sizable share of the scooter market in Northeast India.

Presently around 9000 scooters are sold in Northeast India every month, Mahindra two wheeler commands 14 to 15 percent share of the Northeastern market.

Dharmendra Mishra, Vice President Sales & Customer Care, Mahindra Two Wheelers said, "In Northeast India the sell of scooter is higher. In two wheeler segment across India, motorcycle accounts for 75 sale while rest 25 percent is made up by scooter. In Northeast India scooter commands 40 percent of the two wheeler market and 6o percent is motorcycle."

Mahindra has launched new 110cc scooter. Mishra added, "The Company is working on several formats. With the launch of Gusto we are aiming to increase our market share considerably in Northeast India."

Presently the company has 50 touch points which include dealers, sales and service points. The company is planning to increase it to 75 by December 2015.