Imphal, January 21: An election observer team deputed by the Election Commission of India for the forthcoming elections was forcibly stopped by Army troops this morning at Noney while proceeding towards Tamenglong and made to return to the State capital without any explanation, according to reliable sources in the state elections office. The election observer team and their subordinate staff were reportedly verbally abused and even manhandled by the Army personnel under the command of a captain of the 4/4 GR. Sources said the two election observers, general observer SC Sikdar, and expenditure...

AGARTALA, Jan 20 — In a significant development in Tripura politics, two powerful tribal parties of the state, Tripura Upajati Juba Samity and Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, are likely to announce their formal merger on February 7 next, according to sources. The two tribal parties were discussing the modalities and the name of the new proposed party for the last several months. According to sources, the TUJS highest body members of central committee would be meeting on February 2 or February 3 at Tulshibati School. In all likelihood the TUJS would dissolve itself on the same day ending...

GUWAHATI, Jan 20 — Despite an order by the Gauhati High Court and declaration of the Borsola Beel and Sarusola Beel, the natural reservoir for storm water drainage of Guwahati city, as reserved wetlands, the concerned authorities have so far failed to evict the encroachers on to prevent fresh encroachments on the wetlands. The inaction of the authorities concerned may aggravate the water-logging problem in the central Guwahati areas in the coming rainy season. Not to speak of evicting the encroachers from the Sarusola Beel area, the authorities concerned have even failed to prevent fresh earth...

GUWAHATI, Jan 20 — RSS chief K S Sudarshan today charged certain churches in the country including some in the North East, with indulging in conversion with a political motive and taking the help of militants, reports PTI. “Some churches in the country and the North East were busy in conversion after being politically motivated which was a kind of violence and terror’, Sudarshan told mammoth rally of RSS workers at the Netaji School in Maligaon here. Referring to NE states and Tripura in particular, the RSS leader said it was indeed a matter of great concern that militant outfits, including...

Imphal, January 20: The KYKL (O) today said that they were constrained to shoot Dr Bedikumar in the leg as the RIMS authority had repeatedly failed to pay up its due "tax" to the outfit and Dr Bedikumar was one of the most prominent personalities who refused to pay the tax. In a statement it said to further the revolutionary cause it imposes a tax on the people and in some cases 1.5 percent of the monthly salary of Government employees are deducted as tax. Under this scheme, the finance department of KYKL (O) had approached RIMS, authority in 1999 and it was decided that instead of 1.5 percent...