Concern over northeast women hired for CWG services
An estimated 40,000 women from India's northeast were recruited by various escort services for the Commonwealth Games, sparking fears that a vast majority of the women could be engaged in a prostitution racket in New Delhi during the 12-day mega event, rights groups and a minister said here Tuesday.
'We are indeed worried with girls from the northeast, numbering somewhere around 40,000 recruited by various agencies, luring them of good money and job opportunities... it has all the possibilities of being engaged in an organised prostitution racket,' Hasina Kharbih, chairperson of Impulse NGO Network, a rights group working in rescuing women trafficked from the northeast, told IANS.
According to inputs with the Impulse NGO Network and the Meghalaya government, gullible girls from the eight northeastern states, including Darjeeling and Siliguri in West Bengal, were wooed by smart operators by putting out newspaper advertisements - promising lucrative remuneration and good assignments during the Games.
'It is not just girls from Meghalaya, but across the northeast who were being recruited. We have alerted and appealed to the public to be vigilant, to keep us informed in case they have any information on such a racket,' Meghalaya Social Welfare Department Minister J.A. Lyngdoh told IANS.
'We don't have concrete details or information, but then we are apprehensive.'
Questions are asked as to why northeast women are preferred by escort services.
'Northeastern girls are generally fair and have good features and are fluent in English and hence in demand,' Kharbih said.
'Today northeastern girls are in demand in the flourishing prostitution racket in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and even Bangalore and Pune,' another rights leader said.
Most of these women, trapped by organised rackets, come from middle class families.
'Seedy operators also scout for good looking girls from poor families. We have come across and rescued girls in the past belonging to families living below the poverty line who were sold to the traffickers,' Kharbih said.
The Northeast Support Centre Helpline, a New Delhi-based NGO, too is apprehensive about such a design.
'We are extremely concerned with thousands of northeast girls lured by placement agencies for the Games and our fear is that they might be misused and fall into wrong hands,' said Madhu Chander of the Helpline.
'We appeal to all student leaders of the northeast based in New Delhi to look out for girls from the region already trapped in this dirty racket,' she added.
Saturday
Kisanji ask Naga IRB to defy orders in West Bengal
Maoist leader Kisanji ask Naga IRB to defy orders.
A top Maoist leader Wednesday appealed to Naga troopers of the Indian Reserve Battalion to defy orders and not take part in the ongoing security operations against the ultra left rebels in West Bengal’s Junglemahal region.
In an open letter to troopers of the Nagaland Indian Reserve Battalion -- who are on duty in the mountainous terrain of Purulia district to fight the ultras, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) politburo member Kisanji asked them to “revolt against the orders to battle against the people, desist from pumping bullets into the bodies of your brothers and sisters and defy all orders to dispatch you from one place to another at the diktat and whims of superiors to kill people and get killed”.
“The government considers you as ambush expert Nagas who can easily kill and get killed in the battle zone of the Ayodhya Hills of Purulia district,” Kisanji observed.
Two companies of IRB troopers were deployed in the Ayodhya Hills of Purulia district recently to flush out the ultra left rebels from the area as part of the anti-Maoists operations launched June 2009 in Junglemahal (forested Maoist-affected areas of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura).
It may be mentioned that 10 NAP (IR) battalion apprehended two hardcore Maoists September 12 last during a joint operation with West Bengal police inside Jhalda forest in Purulia district, West Bengal.
A top Maoist leader Wednesday appealed to Naga troopers of the Indian Reserve Battalion to defy orders and not take part in the ongoing security operations against the ultra left rebels in West Bengal’s Junglemahal region.
In an open letter to troopers of the Nagaland Indian Reserve Battalion -- who are on duty in the mountainous terrain of Purulia district to fight the ultras, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) politburo member Kisanji asked them to “revolt against the orders to battle against the people, desist from pumping bullets into the bodies of your brothers and sisters and defy all orders to dispatch you from one place to another at the diktat and whims of superiors to kill people and get killed”.
“The government considers you as ambush expert Nagas who can easily kill and get killed in the battle zone of the Ayodhya Hills of Purulia district,” Kisanji observed.
Two companies of IRB troopers were deployed in the Ayodhya Hills of Purulia district recently to flush out the ultra left rebels from the area as part of the anti-Maoists operations launched June 2009 in Junglemahal (forested Maoist-affected areas of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura).
It may be mentioned that 10 NAP (IR) battalion apprehended two hardcore Maoists September 12 last during a joint operation with West Bengal police inside Jhalda forest in Purulia district, West Bengal.
Friday
The Bombile Terror in North East India
The Bombile Terror in North East India
(Police suspects Pakistan ISI)
Manik Sarkar, 23, ‘became unconscious’ following a call from a number which Assam police officials later said had a “Pakistan code". Police sources also claimed many victims received calls from the same number, prompting the Intelligence agencies to suspect the Pakistan ISI behind the Bombile terror in Assam.
Bombile' is the latest phrase terrorizing Assam with reports of mobile phones suddenly exploding, causing the user to become unconscious.
An estimated 40 “Bombile” cases have been reported so far with more than 30 people admitted to various hospitals in Assam during the past one week. Similar incidences of bizarre occurrences are also reported from other North Eastern States of India.
According to witnesses and victims, the explosions took place soon after receiving calls from numbers that appeared in red on the handset screens. Most of the victims complained of nausea and a splitting headache, and some of them had to be literally wheeled into the hospital unconscious. The incidents are triggering panic among mobile users in Assam with 'bombile' being the word that is in vogue now. " Bombile is terrorizing people to the extent that some of them have literally switched off their handsets and waiting for things to subside or hear some scientific explanation about the cause.
(Police suspects Pakistan ISI)
Manik Sarkar, 23, ‘became unconscious’ following a call from a number which Assam police officials later said had a “Pakistan code". Police sources also claimed many victims received calls from the same number, prompting the Intelligence agencies to suspect the Pakistan ISI behind the Bombile terror in Assam.
Bombile' is the latest phrase terrorizing Assam with reports of mobile phones suddenly exploding, causing the user to become unconscious.
An estimated 40 “Bombile” cases have been reported so far with more than 30 people admitted to various hospitals in Assam during the past one week. Similar incidences of bizarre occurrences are also reported from other North Eastern States of India.
According to witnesses and victims, the explosions took place soon after receiving calls from numbers that appeared in red on the handset screens. Most of the victims complained of nausea and a splitting headache, and some of them had to be literally wheeled into the hospital unconscious. The incidents are triggering panic among mobile users in Assam with 'bombile' being the word that is in vogue now. " Bombile is terrorizing people to the extent that some of them have literally switched off their handsets and waiting for things to subside or hear some scientific explanation about the cause.
Peace Process in Assam
Peace Process in Assam
Assam government has claimed that 19 commanders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) came on their own from Bangladesh to join the peace process and are now sheltered at an unidentified location in the state.
Reports suggested that the rebel commanders, led by Anu Buragohain, Bhaiti Baruah, Biju Deka, and Pradyut Buragohain, gave themselves up before Bangladeshi authorities Wednesday. They were arrested on technical grounds and then handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) somewhere along the border with Meghalaya Saturday.
Assam Chief Minister has meanwhile claimed that the rebel leaders are very much in Assam and are not arrested as they came on their own from Bangladesh to join the peace process. Chief Minister also termed the developments as a very good sign that more and more ULFA leaders are realising the futility of an armed struggle and deciding to come and join the peace process.
Earlier reports said 19 ULFA leaders and nine of their family members arrived in Assam Saturday and were in the Assam Police custody.
Meanwhile, self-styled ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah termed the development as a betrayal by some of the senior leaders.
In an emailed statement to Press,the ULFA commander-in-chief said some of ULFA cadres with their family members fled the camp with the help of Indian intelligence agencies and also with the active support of two senior jailed leaders and are now taking shelter in the enemy camp,"
A police official said: "There is no question of the ULFA members being produced before the court as technically they were not arrested as they came on their own."
It may be recalled that Dhaka has last year launched a massive crackdown against the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and got several of their top leaders arrested and later handed them over to India. Among those arrested in last year's crackdown include ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika. NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary was also arrested in May and later handed over to India.
Assam government has claimed that 19 commanders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) came on their own from Bangladesh to join the peace process and are now sheltered at an unidentified location in the state.
Reports suggested that the rebel commanders, led by Anu Buragohain, Bhaiti Baruah, Biju Deka, and Pradyut Buragohain, gave themselves up before Bangladeshi authorities Wednesday. They were arrested on technical grounds and then handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) somewhere along the border with Meghalaya Saturday.
Assam Chief Minister has meanwhile claimed that the rebel leaders are very much in Assam and are not arrested as they came on their own from Bangladesh to join the peace process. Chief Minister also termed the developments as a very good sign that more and more ULFA leaders are realising the futility of an armed struggle and deciding to come and join the peace process.
Earlier reports said 19 ULFA leaders and nine of their family members arrived in Assam Saturday and were in the Assam Police custody.
Meanwhile, self-styled ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah termed the development as a betrayal by some of the senior leaders.
In an emailed statement to Press,the ULFA commander-in-chief said some of ULFA cadres with their family members fled the camp with the help of Indian intelligence agencies and also with the active support of two senior jailed leaders and are now taking shelter in the enemy camp,"
A police official said: "There is no question of the ULFA members being produced before the court as technically they were not arrested as they came on their own."
It may be recalled that Dhaka has last year launched a massive crackdown against the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and got several of their top leaders arrested and later handed them over to India. Among those arrested in last year's crackdown include ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika. NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary was also arrested in May and later handed over to India.
Monday
Bombile Menace in Assam (mobile blast)
Bombile Menace in Assam (mobile blast)
Newmai News Network Reports:
The technocrats are still clueless about the claimed “explosions” of mobile phones reported from Assam, half a month after the incidents first emerged in the media. Rural folks in Assam, being superstitious, comfort themselves with the “daadima ki nuskhe” (protection of the deities). They seem to have found in lime, turmeric and other grandmother recipes the counter to the ‘devil’s call’. Some are also carrying gourd seeds hoping they would ‘absorb the impact of the debilitating calls.’
According to the “victims,” the mysterious numbers are either in red color or letters in between the numbers. Earlier, Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogi sought a “scientific probe into these cases.” The government later formed a panel for the matter. Service providers have also begun investigating into the veracity of the reports “made believable” by small-town cable TV operators recording the “ordeal” of the “victims.”
Experts assigned by the service providers are yet to get to the bottom of the mystery. A cell-phone specialist said most of the incidents reported since mid-September involves low-cost handsets in the rural areas. “This could be a case of handset quality,” he said, not ruling out faulty battery as a reason. However, “victims” claimed the batteries of their “bombiles” were intact. Last week, a housewife Wahida Khatun of western Assam’s Goalpara town claimed that a call she received last Monday left her with terrible headache and ‘weakness’. On the same day, Ruma Laila of central Assam’s Kamalpur town reported bleeding from ears and nose after a ‘mysterious call made her handset explode’.
The district hospitals admitted 10 more patients hit by “bombiles” – a term coined for bomb-like or exploding mobile handsets – in the past few days. The “phenomenon” hit Guwahati last Thursday after one Manik Sarkar, 23, ‘became unconscious’ following a call from a number police officials later said had a “Pakistan code”. Moromi Begum of Rangiya town, 60 km east of Guwahati, was also ‘hit’ by a similar number that day.
Newmai News Network Reports:
The technocrats are still clueless about the claimed “explosions” of mobile phones reported from Assam, half a month after the incidents first emerged in the media. Rural folks in Assam, being superstitious, comfort themselves with the “daadima ki nuskhe” (protection of the deities). They seem to have found in lime, turmeric and other grandmother recipes the counter to the ‘devil’s call’. Some are also carrying gourd seeds hoping they would ‘absorb the impact of the debilitating calls.’
According to the “victims,” the mysterious numbers are either in red color or letters in between the numbers. Earlier, Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogi sought a “scientific probe into these cases.” The government later formed a panel for the matter. Service providers have also begun investigating into the veracity of the reports “made believable” by small-town cable TV operators recording the “ordeal” of the “victims.”
Experts assigned by the service providers are yet to get to the bottom of the mystery. A cell-phone specialist said most of the incidents reported since mid-September involves low-cost handsets in the rural areas. “This could be a case of handset quality,” he said, not ruling out faulty battery as a reason. However, “victims” claimed the batteries of their “bombiles” were intact. Last week, a housewife Wahida Khatun of western Assam’s Goalpara town claimed that a call she received last Monday left her with terrible headache and ‘weakness’. On the same day, Ruma Laila of central Assam’s Kamalpur town reported bleeding from ears and nose after a ‘mysterious call made her handset explode’.
The district hospitals admitted 10 more patients hit by “bombiles” – a term coined for bomb-like or exploding mobile handsets – in the past few days. The “phenomenon” hit Guwahati last Thursday after one Manik Sarkar, 23, ‘became unconscious’ following a call from a number police officials later said had a “Pakistan code”. Moromi Begum of Rangiya town, 60 km east of Guwahati, was also ‘hit’ by a similar number that day.
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