Mizoram: Another Attempt At Mob Justice

By Nilotpal Bhattacharjee

Vairengte, Jun 22 : Hundreds of protesters from Thingdawl and its neighbouring villages in Kolasib district of Mizoram tried to drag out a man accused of attempted rape from Saipum Mizo India Reserve Battalion camp last night, forcing the police to resort to blank firing to disperse the mob.

The incident was reminiscent of the one at Dimapur in Nagaland when an angry mob dragged a rape accused out of jail and lynched him.

Sources said the mob left the camp around 1 this morning, following a meeting with the police officers who assured them of justice.

A tense atmosphere prevailed today at Saipum after the incident. Security personnel from Kolasib and Mualvum were sent to Saipum to prevent any kind of untoward incident.

Police officials today told The Telegraph that Lalhimpuia, 42, had allegedly attempted to rape a girl at Thingdawl on June 18. He managed to escape after the girl's family members arrived on hearing her screams. He left the area and took shelter at Thintel village, from where he was arrested by Kolasib police last afternoon, the police said.

Lalhimpuia is the son of R. Lalremsiama, a resident of Thingdawl.

Kolasib superintendent of police C. Lalzahngoa told this correspondent that when people from Thingdawl and neighbouring villages came to know about Lalhimpuia's arrest from Thintel, they started chasing the police.

"Sensing trouble, the police took the accused to Saipum Mizo IRB camp instead of Kolasib police station. It is difficult to determine the total number of people gathered in front of the camp, but they were many," Lalzahngoa said.

The mob gheraoed the camp, demanding that the accused should be handed over to them. When they tried to enter the camp to drag out the accused, the policemen deployed at the site sounded a warning and then resorted to blank firing to disperse the mob.

Kolasib town, the headquarters of Kolasib district, is around 35km from Vairengte town and 83km from Aizawl.

Vairengte, bordering Lailapur in Cachar district, is a town under Kolasib district.

A meeting was later held near the battalion camp last night.

The protesters agreed to leave the area after the police assured them that a probe would be conducted and stern action would be taken against the guilty.

Vanlalruata, the general secretary of the Young Mizo Association, the largest NGO of the Mizo people, told The Telegraph this evening from Aizawl that such incidents should be condemned.

"Women should be respected. Any kind of violence against women is not acceptable in any civil society. The judicial system must take up such cases very seriously and justice should be delivered as early as possible," he said.

Vanlalruata, who came to know about the incident through media reports, demanded stern action against the guilty.

On March 5, a rape accused, who was from Bosla village in Karimganj district, was dragged out of prison in Dimapur by a mob, taken to the clock tower, 7km away, and lynched.

Villages Near Manipur Ambush Site Still Deserted as Residents Put Off Return

By Alok Pandey & B Sunzu

Indian Army personnel patrol the area close to the site of the recent ambush attack by militants that killed 18 soldiers.

Chandel, Manipur:  Life is yet to return to normalcy for the villages in Chandel, where 18 Indian soldiers were killed in a deadly ambush two weeks ago. At least three villages located a few kilometres near the ambush site are still deserted; villagers fear for their lives and are reluctant to return home.

Paraolon village is home to more than 400 people, but their huts remain empty even after two weeks. Insurgents of the NSCN (K) group had ambushed a party of Indian soldiers about 3 kilometres away from this village.

Since then the army has cleared most signs of the ambush from the spot. The debris of two burnt army trucks has been placed at this village. Army claims to have eliminated insurgents on the Indo-Myanmar border after the ambush.

But for most people who live in villages in this area, life may not be the same anytime soon. Most are still living with their relatives in Chandel town, and very few have chosen to stay on as they are subjected to rigorous scrutiny by the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles.

The Multuk village, is one of those where some villagers chose to stay back. It is also home to a camp of the army's 6 Dogra Regiment, the same that was targeted in the Manipur ambush. For most villagers, getting back their normal lives seems distant.

Marginal farmers like Mr Konkhotong say, "It's difficult to survive. We need to eat. If we can't work how will we eat? Even the politicians have not come here post the incident. We should be given something to eat. We are not permitted to go anywhere".

The Indian Army maintains it does not want to trouble civilians living in the area during its operations, but for now, the ground realities are somewhat different. The locals here seem to have become unwitting pawns in the conflict.

Manipur Ambush Achitect Niki Sumi back in India

Indian special forces, backed by troops from the Assam Rifles, had attacked Sumi’s base at the village of Ponyo on June 9, the sources said, but the intelligence on his whereabouts was not precise

Few details have emerged on the circumstances under which Sumi succeeded in escaping the Ponyo camp, the key target of the raids conducted by the 21 Paracommando regiment on June 9.

By Praveen Swami

New Delhi | Published on:June 22, 2015 2:33 am

The insurgent commander alleged to be responsible for the ambush that killed 18 soldiers earlier this month has returned to Nagaland after escaping an Indian Army cross-border raid into Myanmar, government sources said.

Niki Sumi, chief of military operations of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), was sighted by intelligence services last week in the forests running along the border with Myanmar in Nagaland’s Phek, Kiphire and Tuensang districts.

Indian special forces, backed by troops from the Assam Rifles, had attacked Sumi’s base at the village of Ponyo on June 9, the sources said, but the intelligence on his whereabouts was not precise

“The government has been seeking the cooperation of Naga insurgent groups committed to the ceasefire with India to track down Sumi and his cadre,” a Ministry of Home Affairs official said. “We are confident that he will be found.”

Sumi, a one-time resident of Naharbari in Dimapur, was named by the Indian government as the key figure in the June 4 ambush, along with the finance chief of the NSCN (K), Starson Lamkang, and ‘Major General’ Neymlang.

Numbering an estimated 1,500 personnel, Sumi’s units are active in the eastern parts of Nagaland, as well as in the Tirap and Changlang districts of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. Its cadre are drawn from a welter of Naga clans — the Konyaks of both India and Myanmar, the Aos of Mokokchung district, the Phoms and Yimchungers of Tuensang district, the Angamis, the Semas, the Lothas, and the Pangmeis of Myanmar.

Few details have emerged on the circumstances under which Sumi succeeded in escaping the Ponyo camp, the key target of the raids conducted by the 21 Paracommando regiment on June 9. Based on briefings from Home Ministry officials, media accounts have claimed dozens — perhaps even over 100 — insurgents were killed.

However, subsequent assessments carried out by the Intelligence Bureau suggest actual fatalities in the two insurgent sites targeted by the Army may have been as few as seven, with a dozen injured.

The Indian government has made no official claim on fatalities, nor released photographs.

Photographs released by the NSCN (K) purport to show that the group responsible for the June 4 ambush returned to its base at Ponyo, though it suffered two fatalities in the course of the operation. The insurgent group has denied suffering fatalities in the cross-border operation.

2 Elephants in an Assam Court in Cross-Border Custody Battle

Hailakandi, Assam:  An elephant and her calf spent a morning in a court in Assam this week, where a judge was asked to decide on their custody.

The judge had to make a short field trip to the court's lawns to inspect the jumbo duo in Assam's remote Hailakandi district which borders Bangladesh.

They were found on the Indian side of the border by the police on Monday. A local resident claims to be their owner - he says the female elephant was stolen from him eight years ago.

But a Bangladeshi man has made a rival claim. "They went missing a few days ago. I looked everywhere and then went to local cops in Bangladesh. They spoke to the Border Security Force and told me my elephants were in Hailakandi. So I got them to arrange travel and here I am to stake claim," says Mojibul Islam.

For now, custody of the elephants has been granted to a local forest official. The case will be heard next week. "We will take care of them as long as we have to, and ensure they are well fed and looked after," said Gunin Saikia, Divisional Forest Officer of Hailakandi.

Manipur Teacher Thrashed For Allegedly Caning Student, Hospitalised

A teacher of a private school in Imphal was beaten up after he allegedly caned a student


Imphal, Jun 19 :  A teacher of a private school in Manipur's Imphal was brutally thrashed and had to be hospitalised after he allegedly caned a student as punishment. 16 members of a prominent students' body have been detained by the police in connection with the incident.

On Tuesday, the computer science teacher at the St. Joseph's School allegedly beat up a Class 6 student with a cane in front of the entire classroom. The student allegedly complained to the Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur - a body that claims to represent the interests of school students across the state - about the incident following which the teacher was summoned to its office later that day and was allegedly assaulted by its members.

The beating was so severe that the teacher had to be taken to a hospital. He has suffered bruises all over his body. Doctors say he is recovering but it will be a few days before he is discharged.

The students' group claims that it got into a minor altercation with the teacher after he refused to apologise for beating the child. The teacher claims his punishment was mild, adding that he did not intend to hurt the child.

Repatriation of Brus From North Tripura Relief Camp Cancelled

Aizawl, Jun 19 : Authorities on Thursday said repatriation of Brus from Khakchangpara relief camp in North Tripura district scheduled to begin from next Monday would be cancelled as no Bru came forward for identification even on the last verification day.

Deputy commissioner of Mizoram-Tripura border Mamit district Vanlalngaihsaka told PTI that no one had turned up at the verification office at the relief camp since Monday.

Vanlalngaihsaka said that people claiming to be representatives of the relief camp submitted a list of demands entitled 'voice of the people' which was in verbatim the contents of the demands submitted at the Kaskau relief camp on June 4 last.

Verification of bona fide residents of Mizoram was conducted at the Kaskau camp from June 2-4 during which no one turned up for identification.

He said that he forwarded the memorandum to the state home department.

The demands of the Brus lodged in the six relief camps in Tripura included increase of rehabilitation package per family from Rs 85,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Though the Supreme Court instructed the Centre and the state governments of Mizoram to repatriate all the Brus within six months, not a single Bru has been repatriated till date.

As per the road map for repatriation prepared by the state government and approved by the apex court, the repatriation process commenced from July 2 and is scheduled to be completed by September 4.

State Additional Secretary for Home Lalbiakzama said that despite initial hiccups the repatriation process would continue as per arrangements made in the road map.

Manipur Observes 'Unity Day'

By Ratnadip Choudhury

Imphal, Jun 19 :The people of Imphal valley on Thursday remembered the 18 civilians who were killed by security forces in 2001 and all roads led to Imphal’s Kekrupat area where their remains were cremated.

On June 18, 2001, when Manipur was under President’s Rule, thousands of people protested against New Delhi’s decision to extend the ceasefire with NSCN(IM) beyond Nagaland.  Government buildings were attacked and the Assembly was burnt down by protesters. They also rushed to the gate of the Raj Bhavan and scaled the chief minister’s bungalow gates,  forcing security personnel to open fire.

Ever since, the day is observed as “Unity Day” by the people of Imphal valley. Hundreds of people paid their respect by laying floral wreaths at the site. The people of Imphal valley reiterated that in no way would they compromise with the “territorial integrity” of Manipur.

New Delhi has hinted at a possible ‘peace deal’ with the NSCN(IM) by the end of this year, the Naga militant group which is in talks with the Centre since 1997. New Delhi had extended the ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) rebels in Naga inhabited areas covering Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.  The move is seen as giving an indirect legitimacy to the NSCN (IM)’s demand for a “greater Nagaland”.

Mizoram’s Church Leaders Urge Flock Not To Observe Yoga Day

Church leaders in Mizoram had earlier submitted a memorandum to BJP President Amit Shah when he visited the state in mid-April.

Aizawl, Jun 18 : A conglomeration of Mizoram’s church leaders has appealed to all Mizo Christians not to observe the International Day of Yoga, planned for this Sunday.

A brief statement from the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee (Mizoram Church Leader’s Committee) or MKHC said it finds it extremely regrettable that the day has been scheduled to clash with a holy day for Christians.

“We appeal to all Mizo Christians to not observe the International Day of Yoga,” the MKHC said.

Church leaders in Mizoram had earlier submitted a memorandum to BJP President Amit Shah when he visited the state in mid-April.

In that memorandum, the MKHC protested against the designation of December 25 (Christmas) as Good Governance Day and the calling of a meeting of various Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts on Good Friday, which this year fell on April