NEW DELHI, July 17: The Supreme Court today directed all the Northeastern states besides West Bengal affected by the illegal infiltration from across the border to respond to the updated status report filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), even as the Centre again reaffirmed its contention that the IMDT Act is a discriminatory piece of legislation. The MHA counter affidavit filed today, however, declined to specify any time-frame for repealing the controversial Act. The Ministry's response came in connection with a writ petition filed by the former All Assam Students Union (AASU)...

AGARTALA, July 16: Dogged by severe criticism for its alleged hobnobbings with tribal miscreants in highly sensitive areas, the CRPF, the largest deployed force in Tripura, has undertaken a new strategy in counter-insurgency operations in the state. The basic idea behind the new strategy is to make the force more people-friendly. The commandants of the CRPF battalions on Saturday held a high-level meeting which was attended by the DGP BL Vohra and IG, CRPF George C Podipara to assess the effectiveness of the revised strategy in counter-insurgency operations. The CRPF IG said the new strategy...

KOHIMA, July 17: The Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO), an apex body of the Chakhesang tribe, has strongly advocated that unless the ceasefire is declared among the underground factions there is not much hope for the Nagas, reports UNI. In a recent interview, CPO president P Pusazo Luruo emphasised on the importance of honouring the ground rules of the ceasefire by the parties involved and cautioned that the Naga problem could not be solved by the ceasefire or political dialogue unless the internal bickerings were done away with." I feel this ceasefire will not bring any good result till...

IMPHAL, July 16: The Imphal East police has cracked down on a shady NGO by the name of German Indo Benevolent for agricultural and Industrial Rural development, GIBARD, located at Hatta Golapati, closing down its office and arresting six of its central committee members yesterday, according to a reliable source. According to the sources, GIBARD has been giving gullible people the impression that it is a German-funded registered body with a net of Rs 100 crore German investments in it already. Using this guise, the NGO has been roping in educated unemployed youths promising them jobs after...

AGARTALA, July 16: A Royal Bengal tigress and 40 cheetal deer have died in Sipahijola Sanctuary in West Tripura district in the last two months, sources in Forest department said on Saturday. The tigress died of trypanosomiasis on July 7 last in a zoo of the sanctuary, the sources said, adding that the deer died of an unknown disease. A seven-member doctors, team, led by P Majumdar, on Saturday visited the sanctuary and prescribed some preventive measures to protect the lives of the animals there. The sanctuary now has only one tiger. Twelve tigers died of trypanosomiasis at Nandankanan...