News Analysis India

Tag: Nagaland

  • Youth wields gun in public to win over woman after tiff, lands in jail in Nagaland

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: A youth in Nagaland wielded a gun in public to win over a woman after a tiff but landed in jail.

    The incident was reported from the commercial hub Dimapur. Police arrested the accused, Torin Tikhir, 25, and produced him in a local court. It sent him to judicial custody.

    “He chose the Gun instead of a Rose to woo his girlfriend but the neighborhood was least impressed with the gun slinging Romeo. One person arrested for illegal possession of a .22 caliber pistol from Padumpukhuri area. Case registered in East PS,” the Dimapur Police tweeted.

    Dimapur Police spokesman Relo T Aye said the accused, who is a truck driver, had some trouble in his relationship.

    “He had an argument with his girlfriend, so he comes with a pistol and starts the drama that he will shoot himself if she does not patch up. We arrested him after being alerted by the locals,” Aye said.

    He said the pistol was not licensed. The accused had borrowed it from a friend.

    “We are investigating how the friend of the accused managed to get hold of the gun. We will take action against him as well,” the police spokesman added.

    Gunrunning thrives in Nagaland. The weapons are smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar. A section of insurgents, lying low following their signing of ceasefire agreements with the Centre, runs the show.

    The illegal arms market is organised and on a larger scale in Dimapur. There have been numerous incidents when illegal weapons, procured by elements from Dimapur, were seized by the police in Assam.

  • Student body in Nagaland urges Home Ministry to repeal AFSPA

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: The Naga Students Federation (NSF), condemning the Centre’s decision to declare the whole of Nagaland a “disturbed area” under the provisions of the Armed forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) 1958, on Thursday appealed the Centre to ensure that the “controversial law” is repealed once and for all.

    The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through a notification on Wednesday, said that “the Central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and a dangerous condition that the use of the armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.

    Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the AFSPA, “the central government declared that whole of the State of Nagaland to be ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from June 30 for the purpose of the said Act”, the notification stated.

    ALSO READ | Nagaland declared as ‘disturbed area’ till December-end under AFSPA

    AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for several decades.

    The NSF, which is the apex body of Naga student unions, said in a statement, that the federation “condemns the overarching approach of the central government in extending the inhumane Act under the pretext of ‘Law and order’ problem in the state”.

    Kegwayhun Tep, the president of NSF, denounced “the continuous attempt of the central government to paint the state as a land of lawlessness and chaos”.

    The federation further appealed to the central government to objectively assess the situation and not act upon biased reports from their agencies.

    “AFSPA is unconstitutional and has no place in a democratic state as it only encourages abuses and serious human rights violations by the armed forces acting on behalf of the state.

    “The NSF, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs that the right steps forward are taken in order to ensure that the controversial law is repealed once and for all,” the statement added.

  • Nagaland declared as ‘disturbed area’ till December-end under AFSPA

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The entire state of Nagaland has been declared a “disturbed area” for six more months, till December-end, under the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act which empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant.

    In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said Wednesday the government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of the state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.

    “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (No.28 of 1958), the central government, hereby, declares that whole of the state of Nagaland to be ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th June, 2021 for the purpose of the said Act,” the notification, issued by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry Piyush Goyal, said.

    Official sources said the decision has been taken as killings, loots and extortion cases have been going on in various parts of the state which necessitated the action for the convenience of the security forces operating there. The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for decades.

    It was not withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 between Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and government interlocutor R N Ravi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The framework agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years with the first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland. However, there has been no progress in the peace talks as the NSCN-IM has sought a separate flag and constitution for Nagaland, which was rejected by the Central government.

  • Nagaland records more recoveries than new infections, tally

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Nagaland on Sunday reported more recoveries than fresh COVID-19 cases, as 160 people were cured of the disease while 77 new infections pushed the tally to 22,773, a health official said.

    The demise of four coronavirus patients, 3 in Dimapur and one in Zunheboto district, has increased the death toll to 426, of which 14 were related to other diseases, the official said.

    Of the new cases, 20 were reported in Kohima, 17 each in Dimapur and Zunheboto, 10 in Mokokchung, 7 in Phek, 2 each in Peren and Tuensang, and 1 each in Wokha and Mon districts, State Nodal Officer for Integrated Disease Surveillance Project Dr.

    Nyanthung Kikon said in the daily COVID-19 bulletin. He also said that 101 COVID-19 patients from Dimapur, Kohima (18), Zunheboto (13 ), Phek (9), Tuensang (8), Mokokchung (4), Wokha (3), and two each in Longleng and Peren districts recovered during the day.

    This has increased the number of patients who have recovered from the infection to 16,974, improving the recovery rate in the state to 74.53 per cent from 74.08 per cent on Saturday, he said. At present, there are 4,732 active patients in the state.

    Altogether 641 COVID-19 patients have migrated to other states, he said. A total of 1,989,365 samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far in Nagaland. It includes 91,743 on RT-PCR, 56,925 on TrueNat, and 50,688 on Rapid Antigen Test so far, Dr. Kikon said.

    Meanwhile, state immunisation officer Dr Ritu Thurr said, a total of 2,33,604 persons have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine. As many as 54,234 beneficiaries have received both doses of the vaccine.

  • Nagaland extends lockdown till June 11 as COVID cases spike

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: The Nagaland government on Friday extended the total lockdown in the state till June 11.

    The lockdown, first imposed on May 14 for seven days, was earlier extended till May 31.

    The decision to further extend the lockdown till June 11 was taken by the High Powered Committee (HPC) on COVID-19, headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

    In the meeting, the Health and Family Welfare Department made a presentation on the status of the COVID-19 case, beds and oxygen availability and the trend of hospitalisations, among others, said minister Neiba Kronu.

    In view of the number of COVID-19 cases in the state and the feedback given by the District Task Forces (DTFs), the decision to extend the lockdown till June 11 was taken, he said.

    The state on Friday reported 192 new cases, increasing the COVID-19 tally to 21,215.

    The highest number of cases were detected in Dimapur at 61, followed by Tuensang (47) and Kohima (26).

    Five more people died in the state, raising the toll to 343.

    There are 4,990 active cases in Nagaland at present, while 15,258 patients have recovered.

    The state government is satisfied that the existing lockdown measures are required to continue in order to break the chain and prevent the spread of COVID-19, said the official notification issued by Chief Secretary J Alam on the lockdown extension.

    The existing guidelines would continue to be in place — all activities and movement of people will remain suspended, except essential services, agriculture and construction works.

    Shops dealing in essential commodities would be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 12 noon daily and only one person per family has to do the shopping, as per the guidelines.

    Advisor Mmhonlumo Kikon said the committee has asked the DTFs to submit a detailed report on the welfare of the unorganised sectors, including taxi and bus drivers, and other daily wage earners Minister Kronu said it was also decided that over and above the 15 percent of Local Area Development Programme (LADP) fund earmarked for common pool activities, an additional 10 percent will be kept aside for COVID-19 related expenditure.

    The Planning Department will issue separate guidelines on this, he said.

    To check the spread of the virus in rural areas, a system of community surveillance has been put in place, while the DTFs have been asked to take steps to strengthen the Village Task Forces and Village Disaster Management Authorities, he said.

    They shall remain operational under the supervision of the respective DTFs for effective management of COVID-19 in the rural areas, he said.

    All village and ward/colony authorities would be mobilised to organise suitable slots for vaccination in order to streamline the ongoing vaccination drive, the minister said.

  • Assam MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, mediapersons face firing during visit to a village on Nagaland border

    By PTI
    JORHAT: Miscreants and alleged land encroachers from Nagaland fired at Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, his security team and a group of journalists from Assam when they went to visit a village in Dessoi Valley forest in Jorhat district on Thursday, but no one was hurt.

    Expressing deep concern over the incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered Special DGP (Law and Order) Gyanendra Pratap Singh to rush to the spot and carry out a detailed investigation into the matter.

    The opposition Congress blamed inaction of Assam government for the development and doubted that “suspected Nagaland Police personnel” were behind the incident of firing.

    The disputed area falls between Bongaon and Sonapur villages in Dessoi Valley Reserve Forest under Mariani police station of Jorhat district and Changki village under Mangkolemba circle of Mokokchung district of Nagaland, official sources said.

    According to officials, the local MLA, his security team, a few additional personnel from an Assam police battalion and a group of local journalists visited a village inside the dessoi valley reserve forest following media reports that people from Nagaland have encroached Assam land.

    “When Kurmi and the team were approaching, the miscreants fired at air to prevent them from approaching the site. As they did not stop, then the people from Nagaland fired several rounds aiming at Kurmi and others. Luckily, the bullets did not hit them,” they said.

    Seeing their aggressive nature and not taking any risk, the entire team retreated and ran for safety, an official said.

    The videos of the journalists capturing the entire episode, including the shooting incident and fleeing the place for safety, are being telecast by local TV channels and have gone viral.

    When contacted, Kurmi told PTI, “The media reported about three days ago that Naga people encroached forest land, cut trees, built houses and installed solar panels. Local Assamese villagers said the SP Jorhat visited, but did nothing.”

    The MLA said he came to see the development himself and brought along the media as the land belonged to Assam.

    “As soon as they saw us, they started firing. I would have become a martyr today had my luck not favoured me! The government must protect Assam land,” Kurmi said.

    The MLA from Mariani constituency gave an ultimatum of 40 hours to the Assam government to free the land from the encroachers of the neighbouring state, otherwise he will start an indefinite hunger strike at the site.

    Kurmi also said that DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and Political Secretary to Chief Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah spoke to him, and they were informed about the panic situation prevailing in the area.

    The chief minister expressed concern over the firing incident at the New Sonowal Border Outpost (BOP) at Assam- Nagaland inter-state border.

    He termed the incident as unfortunate, which can jeopardise the relation between the two neighbouring states, and directed the Special DGP to travel to the site of the incident and conduct an inquiry.

    Condemning the incident, Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Debabrata Saikia said the firing incident was carried out by “suspected Nagaland police personnel”.

    “People from Nagaland have been encroaching Assam land for a long time. I also visited many such sites and submitted a report to the government, which did nothing.

    “Due to their inaction, today’s incident took place. I urge the Assam government to free our land strictly,” he added.

  • Government carrying out aggressive COVID vaccination drive: Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio

    By PTI
    DIMAPUR: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday said that the government is carrying out an aggressive vaccination drive to stop the spread of COVID-19 cases in the rural areas of the state.

    He also said that the state government is strengthening the primary health centres.

    “The state government’s priority is not to allow the spread of coronavirus in the rural areas of the state and for which the government is undertaking aggressive vaccination drive and also strengthening the primary health centres (PHCs),” Rio told media persons on the sidelines of his visit to Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) in Dimapur.

    IHM Dimapur is being converted into a 100-bed makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients.

    Rio also said that the government was trying its best for strengthening the health care facilities in the state particularly Dimapur as the district accounts for more than 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases in the state.

    The state government was trying its best to take care of COVID-19 positive people living below the poverty line, he said.

    Further, Rio announced that CIHSR Dimapur was chosen for the setting up of a 176 bed COVID-19 hospital with all required necessary infrastructures because of its reputation, expertise, manpower and minimal treatment cost.

    Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) has all the required facilities so when we have another hospital adjacent to that the working system becomes easy, Rio said.

    During the day, the CM also inaugurated the 30 bed COVID-19 Hospital at the Nagaland Police Referral Hospital, Chumukedima in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, Ministers Pangyu Phom and Neiba Kronu, Advisors Zhaleo Rio and Mmhonlumo Kikon, DGP P John Longkumer and other senior bureaucrats.

    He also inspected the upcoming 75 bed COVID hospital in the same complex and expressed satisfaction with the progress of the work.

  • Nagaland’s first PSA oxygen generation plant at NHAK will be functional from Monday

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Nagaland’s first Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant will be functional at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK) from Monday, said a health department official.

    Nagaland Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom will inaugurate the first PSA plant at NHAK on Monday after which production of medical oxygen will commence, said Joint Director of Health and Family Welfare Department, Dr Neisakho Kere on Saturday.

    The PSA oxygen generation plant is being funded by PM CARES fund.

    The sample of oxygen produced by the PSA Plant at NHAK was sent for testing on May 10 while a quality test of the oxygen started on May 13 and completed on Friday.

    “Tested sample of medical oxygen is confirming to IP 2018 Standard Quality and is fit for use for Medical Purposes,” stated the test report.

    Construction of two more PSA plants, one each in Dimapur and Mokokchung district is progressing while other districts would also be having PSA oxygen generation plants funded by UNDP and UNICEF.

  • One-year jail for eight Naga women over humiliating kangaroo court convict 

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI:  A court in Nagaland has sentenced eight women to one year in jail for humiliating a woman after a judgment against her was passed by a kangaroo court in 2018. The Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Tuensang also ordered a fine of Rs 3,000 against the eight, under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code. The victim was punished by a kangaroo court over violation of customary laws relating to extra-marital affairs.

    Enraged that the victim had an extramarital affair, the eight women chopped off her hair and paraded her naked. The court observed that the villagers had taken the matter into their hands and meted out “inhumane” justice to her. “This is a case where the village folk asserting the so-called rights given unto them by the customary law, outraged the modesty of the victim in the most barbaric fashion,” the court said. The Nagas are governed by customary laws.

    The state enjoys special provision under Article 371 A of the Constitution which says, “No Act of the Parliament in respect of religious or social practices of the Nagas and Naga customary law and procedure shall apply to Nagaland unless the state Assembly so decides by a resolution.”

    However, the court observed that the law and order situation in the society would break down completely if all villages started invoking customary laws that “uncultured civilisations practiced”. According to the convicts, they were acting on the basis of a resolution adopted by their village to punish anyone found guilty of indulging in adultery.

  • Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio tells people to give ‘last push’ to Naga political solution

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has sought the collective effort of the Naga people to give the “last push” to achieve an honourable and acceptable solution to the vexed Naga political issue between the Government of India and the Naga negotiators.

    “The Naga political issue belongs to the people and therefore we need to do what can be done as per the prevailing situation to arrive at an agreement,” Rio said while addressing the inaugural session of the 29th biennial general conference of the Angami Students Uion (ASU) at Naga Heritage Village Kisama on Saturday.

    In this regard, he said that the leaders of the present generation must seriously deliberate on the issue.

    With the Naga history being recognised as “unique” and the Naga issue recognised as a “political issue”, he urged the Nagas to think and live accordingly.

    He assured that the state government is working along with the opposition party to expedite the Naga peace process.

    On the contentious issue of the Naga flag and constitution, Rio recalled his meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his recent visit to Delhi and informed that Shah has said that there cannot be a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas.

    However, he said that a flag that symbolises the uniqueness of the Nagas can be used under the Indian Union during community functions, but not at government establishments or meetings.

    Also dwelling on the government’s initiative to create a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), Rio recalled that the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur was done following the report of a committee led by Abhishek Singh.

    He said that the question of who will come under the purview of ILP was then raised, which also led to the need to identify who is an indigenous inhabitant of the state.

    He said that the government is conducting several consultative meetings with the tribal leaders on the issue of RIIN as it needs to be thoroughly deliberated.

    He highlighted about the important role of the village councils who will be responsible to certify who is indigenous and native and later would be verified by the respective district administration.

    The CM appealed to all those who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to seize the opportunity.

    Expressing discontentment that only around 15 per cent of the people in the state have been vaccinated so far, he urged the students to also create awareness about vaccination.