Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

UNLF denies charge: Imphal, Jan. 4: The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) on Friday denied allegations by Delhi police that the outfit was involved in the killing of Khuplam Hangsing, a senior leader of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA). Hangsing was murdered by unidentified persons on November 12 at a flat in West Delhi. According to Delhi police, the murder was carried out at the behest of W. Luwangamba, an active member of the UNLF. A monetary dispute led to the murder of Hangsing, they claimed. The “senior publicity officer” of the UNLF, Ksh. Yoiheiba, denied the outfit’s role in the murder. In a statement, the UNLF said the claim by Delhi police was false and that the “baseless story” was churned out by intelligence agencies to create ill feelings between the two outfits. The statement said Luwangamba, who was a “corporal” of the UNLF, had deserted the outfit more than three years back and since then been an active member of a gang involved in several incidents of extortion ...

Cops crack case: New Delhi, Jan 3: A monetary dispute with banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) led to the murder of a prominent Kuki leader in the capital two months ago and 10 people were allegedly involved in hammering him to death. Out of the 10, police has managed to arrest two men from Punjab on December 21, police said on Thursday. Implicated in the case is one Luwangamba of the UNLF. The UNLF had already expelled Luwangamba from the outfit earlier, said a spokesman. Khuplam Hangsing (35), chairman of banned Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), died under mysterious circumstances on November 12 at his brother's rented accommodation in Sriniwaspuri of west Delhi and intra-group rivalry was suspected to be the reason behind the murder. The investigation of the murder was handed over to Special Cell of the city police and after probing KRA's inter and intra-group rivalries, they zeroed in on two persons who were allegedly involved in the operation. While Malkeet Singh, ...

Villagers flee crossfire: Imphal, Dec. 25: Neneng Haokip, 19, had returned home to Dingpi village in Manipur’s Thoubal district to celebrate Christmas with her family members. However, the 19-year-old student was shocked when she found that her family members had fled their village to escape the crossfire between militants and security forces. “My family did not inform me that they were leaving the village. When I went there I was told by those who had stayed behind that my family had fled to Moreh. I then went to the border town and finally met my parents at Sugnu in Thoubal district,” she said. Not just Haokip’s family, nearly 500 villagers have reportedly fled the area after security forces launched a massive operation on November 18 to flush out militants of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF). All the villagers in this tribal belt belong to the Kuki community and are Christians. The security forces are inching forward towards the Indo-Myanmar border via New Somtal Road. Th...

Manipur 2nd most conflict ridden state in NE: Imphal, Dec 11: With 361 deaths till November 30, Manipur remains the second most conflict ridden state in the northeast, behind Assam with 388 fatalities, says a report of the South Asia intelligence review (SAIR). With a month to go before the end of 2007 the figure of fatalities has already surpassed the 311 militancy-related fatalities that occurred in Manipur in 2006. While fatalities among the militants in 2007 have remained more or less comparable to the previous year, it has certainly worsened among the civilians and the security forces. According to the currently available data, civilian deaths have already increased by over 42 per cent and those of security forces by 39 percent. According to a report of the Institute of Conflict Management, ministry of home affairs, during the year 2007 upto November 30, out of the 361 deaths, 137 were civilians, 39 were security men while 185 were militants of different outfits. During 2006, the ...