Beef Party, Bandh To Greet BJP President Amit Shah in Meghalaya

Shillong, Apr 22 : A beef party and a bandh will greet BJP president Amit Shah during his maiden visit to Meghalaya on Wednesday.

The Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR), a pressure group, is organising the 'beef party' in which it will discuss attack by Sangh Parivar outfits on democratic and secular ideals, near the BJP office in the state capital.

TUR conveners Angela Ryngad and Tarun said the beef party is being held to oppose BJP for their ideals which seeks to uproot the ideals that unite the country.

The TUR asked its members to bring to the party ideas, banners, posters and beef burgers.

"The beef party is not just eating beef burgers or sharing beef soups but a platform where we will have songs, ideas, banners, posters against the party, its ideals and its leader Amit Shah," they said.

Meanwhile security has been tightened in the city in the wake of a 12-hour bandh called by the proscribed militant outfit, the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), in protest against alleged atrocities perpetrated by the Sangh Parivar on minorities.

East Khasi Hills district SP M Kharkrang said additional security personnel will be deployed in and around sensitive areas during Shah's visit.

The outfit, in a release, said the BJP-led NDA government's plan to ban cow slaughter will also snatch employment from thousands of families in the Hynniewtrep (Khasi and Jaintia Hills region).

Shah, who visited Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur during his week-long tour, is scheduled to arrive in Shillong from Sikkim on Wednesday for a day-long visit where he will meet regional political party leaders, church leaders and BJP workers.

Mizoram Court Sends 3 Arrested Militant Leaders To Judicial Custody

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Apr 21 : Three arrested cadres of the Hmar People’s Convention Democratic (HPCD) militant group including it’s “army chief” Lalropuia Famhoite and “finance secretary” Norbar Sanate were on Monday sent to judicial custody by an Aizawl court.

The trio, including a self-styled private, were arrested by Mizoram Police at Ramnagar near Silchar, the main town in Assam’s Cachar district, last Thursday. They were remanded to three days police custody for questioning after they were brought to Aizawl.

The men have initially been charged under extortion cases in two northern Mizoram villages last year but they have all denied their involvement during the court hearing Monday.

“Our cadres are active in the area and they must have been involved but we were not directly involved ourselves,” Sanate claimed.

Famhoite also denied before the court that he had any knowledge of the March 28 ambush on a convoy of three Mizoram MLAs that killed three policemen and injured six other people, and also claimed he does not remember how many cases he has pending against him.

“Our commanders must have acted on their own. I was given no information about it,” he said, claiming he has not been active in the militant group for more than a year due to ill health.

Investigators have meanwhile said the men could not have been left out of the ambush or the extortions since they are the most important leaders in the militant group since Famhoite controls the group’s arms and ammunition while Sanate controls it’s finances.

The nest date of hearing has been scheduled for May 1.

Northeast Militant Group Eyes Tambola Funding

By Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Apr 21 : From highway robbery and ‘revolutionary’ taxes to plain old extortion, militants in the northeast have tried every trick in the book to fund their secessionist activities. One group in Meghalaya, however, has now turned to gambling.

A breakaway outfit of the militant A’chik National Volunteers’ Council (ANVC-B) in Meghalaya is raising funds for ‘sustenance’ by organising Bawil-Dawil, a tribal version of tambola or housie – a game of probability played by betting on numbers.

“This is our initiative to sustain members and keep them engaged so they aren’t distracted or forced to return to the jungle out of frustration,” an ANVC-B statement said.

It attributed the novel move to a failure by Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma’s government in providing a rehabilitation package promised during the signing of a peace pact last year. The ANVC-B, headed by Rimpu Marak, insisted the outfit has given up extortion and Bawil-Dawil was the only option to generate funds for the time being.

The police in five districts under Garo Hills – where A’chik National Volunteers’ Council -B and rival outfits operate – said they were not sure if action could be taken against a traditional gambling game.

“Everything’s fine as long as they are not harassing people or causing law and order problems,” a senior officer from Tura, the nerve centre of the Garo Hills districts 284 km southwest of Guwahati, said.

Years ago, Meghalaya had legalised Thoh Kyntip, a traditional archery-based gambling sport popularly known as Teer that entails betting on any number between 1 and 100.

Teams of archers shoot up to 3,000 arrows on a cylindrical target made of hay. The number of successful arrows that remain after eliminating 100 at a time is the lucky number.

Teer, though, is illegal in the Northeast beyond Meghalaya but police say several outfits such as the United Liberation Front of Assam and National Socialist Council of Nagaland make money from illegal Teer counters across the region.

Mizoram Govt To Bring Bill To Declare ‘Disturbed Areas’

Sinlung says: The Mizoram government looks to appease the Lushai Centric groups when it plans to declare the Hmar areas as "Disturbed".

The Mizo government should instead be looking at a bigger role on how to accommodate all Mizos no matter what their language affinity is. The way forward is "Greater Mizoram". The current Mizoram was not what MNF fought for. ADC is nothing compared to Greater Mizoram.

The Mizo government needs to be bringing together all Zohnathlak living in Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Burma under one territory and administration and use rebels like HPC-D to expand greater Mizoram. Instead the politicians of today just want to keep their chair and play with petty politics while this will fire will grow stronger.

All Zohnathlak under one home....Zohnathlak Unity

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Apr 20 : A bill to declare Mizoram’s northern regions bordering Manipur a “disturbed area” will be introduced in the next Assembly session likely to be held in July, but the government will not invoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) there, Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana has said.

Lalzirliana hinted the government will move to declare Manipur-based militant group Hmar People’s Convention Democratic (HPCD) an “unlawful” organisation since parties of all hues have supported the move. The HPCD demands a tribal autonomous district for the Hmar tribe in the northern regions.

The Mizoram government accuses the group’s cadres, particularly of Zosangbera faction, of extorting money from locals, and more recently, for ambushing a convoy of MLAs and killing three policemen and injuring six others, two of them civilians.

The HPCD has also recently issued a press statement claiming responsibility for the attacks. The state’s home department has pushed for declaring the outfit an “unlawful” organisation and also for declaring the region they operate in as a “disturbed area”. But what Lalzirliana said Friday indicates the Congress, which occupies 34 out of 40 seats in the state legislature, is keen to push forward with the latter as well.

Opposition parties, as well as some NGOs, have voiced their hostility against the proposal for a “disturbed area” saying Mizoram’s residents suffered atrocities committed by the armed forces for two decades during the MNF insurgency. He said the “disturbed area” tag does not necessarily mean the Army or central paramilitary would have to be deployed in the region. “There will be no free hand given to police as under the AFSPA,” Lalzirliana said.

Mizoram Govt Rules Out Talks With Militant Outfit HPC(D)

Aizawl, Apr 20 : Mizoran Home Minister R Lalzirliana today said the state government does not have any intention to hold talks with the Manipur-based Hmar People's Convention (Democrats) as the outfit could not be trusted.

"The government does not have any intention to have parleys with the outfit, rather we would reply them in the language they understand," he said.

The March 28 ambush on a team of 'Assembly Committee on Government Assurances' by the HPC(D) cadres took place barely two weeks after feelers were sent to H Zosangbera, the outfit's chairman, on holding talks, Lalzirliana said.

The attack occurred in Zokhawthiang hamlet near Mizoram-Manipur-Assam border and left three policemen dead.

The home minister said personnel of the elite force of the state armed police are launching a major operation to arrest those involved with the ambush.

Three HPC(D) militants including Lalropuia Famhoite, self-styled army chief of the outfit, were arrested two days ago from Ramnagar of Silchar area in Assam's Cachar district.

One of the other two arrested persons was Norbar Sanate, Finance Secretary of the HPC(D).

Lalzirliana earlier said he would introduce the Mizoram Disturbed Areas Bill, 2015 in the next session of the state legislature likely to be held in July.

He said the proposed law would authorise the state government to declare any militant-infested area within the state as 'disturbed area' if the situation warranted.

He, however, clarified that declaration of 'disturbed area' would not necessarily mean imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

Kiren Rijiju in Dock for Afspa extension in Arunachal Pradesh

Kiren Rijiju

Guwahati, Apr 20 : With protest against the extension of Afspa Act getting louder in frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, the role of Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju  has come under the scanner of the PMO.

 

Disclosing that decision was taken without any consultation with the state government and other security agencies, sources in the Centre said the home ministry is prepared to roll back their decision of extending Afspa in 12 bordering districts of Arunachal Pradesh, but looking for a face-saving escape route.

 

The protest became louder after three women of Jullang village accused that Armymen molested them on April 6. And, in reaction, Mr Rijiju tweeted, “It was a drama. Army is not even present in that area, forget about harassment”, to more embarrassment of the department.

Mizoram Police Arrest ‘Army Commander’ Of Militant Group Responsible for MLA Convoy Ambush

Lalropuia Famhoite (centre), Norbar Sanate (left) and a self-styled private soon after they were nabbed by Mizoram Police in south Assam. (Source: Express photo)

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Apr 17 :  The Mizoram Police on Thursday arrested self-styled army commander Lalropuia Famhoite, 47, of the militant group Hmar People’s Convention Democratic and two others in south Assam’s Silchar town.

The Zosangbera faction of the HPCD, of which Famhoite is a senior leader, has claimed responsibility for the ambush of an MLAs’ convoy that killed three policemen late last month and injured six others, including two civilians.

A police spokesperson said the trio, which also included self-styled HPCD finance secretary Norbar Sanate and a self-styled private, were nabbed by police at Ramnagar, Silchar, at 11.05 am Thursday.
The spokesperson added there are currently two warrants of arrest against Famhoite.

The state government is moving towards declaring the HPCD an “unlawful” Organisation and some areas of Mizoram’s border with Manipur, where the militant group is active, a disturbed area.

Threats by the militant group have also resulted in local politicians being too scared to contest rural body elections in at least 26 villages that fall within a region the HPCD wants to be part of a tribal autonomous council for the Hmar tribe, considered a part of the Mizo community. Polls to village councils are scheduled for the last day of April in six of Mizoram’s eight districts.

48 Different Guns, 7900 Rounds of Ammunition Seized in Mizoram

The seized arms included seven AK-47 assault rifles, six US-made M-16 rifles, four MA-3 Mk-II rifles and two AK-56 rifles.

Aizawl, Apr 17 :  Mizoram police seized 48 types of rifles and more than 7,900 rounds of ammunition of different guns during 2014, police said today.

The seized arms included seven AK-47 assault rifles, six US-made M-16 rifles, four MA-3 Mk-II rifles and two AK-56 rifles, a senior police official said.

The state police also seized two hand grenades, three kg of RDX and 312 boxes of special ordinary detonator (SOD) during the same period.

Majority of the seized weapons were suspected to have been meant for a Chakma militant group operating in neighbouring Bangladesh and were mainly smuggled from Myanmar through the porous 404-kilometre-long international border, the officer added.