Politics / Assam

SILCHAR, April 12—Union Minister of State for Home ID Swami today blamed the ISI behind the ethnic clashes in the North East and said that exemplary punishment would be meted out to the culprits even as tension continued to mount in the Lakhipur subdivision of Cachar district. Talking to mediapersons at Pailapool after touring the three refugee camps of Lakhipur, Hmar Khawlin and Ganganagar under Lakhipur subdivision, Swami assured the people that security will be provided to them. He also stated that the Centre has sanctioned rehabilitation package of Rs 10 crore to the victims of ethnic...

Imphal, April 11: Nearly 200 Hmars, displaced by the ethnic conflict in Assam’s Cachar and North Cachar Hills districts, reached here this afternoon.

They were later transported to Churachandpur district, where they will put up in a relief camp.

Of the 196 tribals who reached here in three buses, 61 are children and 44 women. After fleeing their homes in the Hmartlangmawi and Tlangmawi villages on April 3, they spent five days at the Lumding railway station before travelling to Dimapur by train.

Leaders of Hmar student and youth organisations received the refugees at New Lambulane here. The...

Guwahati/Silchar, April 11: A day after leaders of the warring Hmar and Dimasa tribes agreed to rebuild bridges of friendship, 80 more houses were set ablaze at Khepre near Maibong in North Cachar Hills district of Assam.

Inspector-general of police (law and order) S.B.Kakoti said in Guwahati that suspected Hmar tribesmen set fire to a row of houses belonging to Dimasas and hurled grenades at the villagers. However, nobody was injured.

The incident took place even as curfew was relaxed for three hours in Haflong, giving people an opportunity to replenish stocks of essential commodities...

AIZAWL, April 11 — North East Students Organisation Vice President Lalmuanpui Punte vol said that the North Cachar ethnic violence between the native Dimasas and other ethnic tribes such as Hmars, Kukis and Nagas was taking a turn for the worse with the Hmar people bearing the brunt of the attacks. In the meantime, the state government has swung into action with the Mizoram Chief Secretary discussing the situation with his counter-part in the Assam government and the Mizoram IG of police contacting his Assam counter-part.

Reports said Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga who was in New Delhi...

GUWAHATI, April 11 — Intelligence agencies in the State have once again warned of the possibility of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) trying to attack leaders of the Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) and the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) in order to destablise the peace process that has been initiated with the MoU on the BTC.

Intelligence sources confirmed that the NDFB is planning to eliminate some of the top BLT and ABSU leaders. Top on the list of possible targets are BLT vice president Kamal Mushary alias Chandan Brahma and its publicity secretary Mainao Daimary alias...

Silchar, April 10: Two persons were killed and over 100 houses set ablaze in fresh clashes between the Hmar and Dimasa communities in North Cachar Hills district of Assam, where a 48-hour curfew has been in force since yesterday.

Suspected Dimasa militants set fire to 10 houses at Heronbasti near Umrangshu. Armed Dimasas set ablaze another 25 huts in neighbouring Rekzol and 72 houses in the remote Saranbasti village. The toll in the clashes since March 31 has risen from 24 to 32.

Police sources in Haflong said there was heavy exchange of fire between armed groups at Saranbasti. However, there...

Guwahati, April 10: The Assam government is facing a new problem on the Bodo front with activists of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) mounting pressure on their leaders to postpone their proposed “farewell to arms”.

The BLT members want to retain their weapons till the Bodos of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts are granted Scheduled Tribe (Hills) status and accorded reservation benefits in areas under the three other autonomous councils of the Rabhas, Tiwas and Mishings.

Sources close to the BLT top brass told The Telegraph today that members of the outfit were feeling “betrayed”...

SILCHAR, April 10 – The situation of Barak Valley, North Cachar Hills and a part of Manipur bordering Cachar district is still tense following the Dimasa-Hmar ethnic clash which killed 28 people during the last few days. A fear psychosis has gripped the people of these places. All the non-Dimasa people are leaving North Cachar Hills following the threat from the Dimasa outfit Dima Halam Daogah (DHD). It can be mentioned here that the Dimasa-Cacharis are the Indo-Mongoloids and belong to the Bodo group of people and linguistically belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family.

On the other hand...

SHILLONG, April 10 — More than 200 Hmar people have taken shelter in Meghalaya following clashes with the Dimasa tribals in Cachar Hill districts of neighbouring Assam since April one, reports PTI. The Hmars had mostly taken shelter in the Evangelical Free Church of India in the state capital, official sources said.

The displaced were being rehabilitated by some local NGOs. The state Government would provide relief to the refugees only after getting the report of the enquiry into the exodus. The East Khasi Hills district’s Extra-Assistant Commissioner, I Majaw would conduct the enquiry and...

GUWAHATI, April 10— Tension continues to grip the minority Hmar community people who have been under attack from Dimasa ultras of the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD) in different parts of the North Cachar Hill district even as the Centre has been requested to rush additional force and an expert counter insurgency team there. Hundreds of Hmar tribal people have fled their villages in the district out of fear of attack from the Dimasas who are apparently avenging killings of Dimasas by the Hmar People’s Convention (HPC) extremists in Cachar district areas.

The district administration in North Cachar...