Govt holds talks with four Kuki militant outfits in Guwahati
Guwahati: The government on Thursday held a meeting with leaders of four Kuki militant outfits from Manipur, with whom it had earlier signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement. The meeting took place at the Assam Police's Special Branch headquarters in Kahilipara, Guwahati, according to a senior official.
Details of the discussions were not disclosed, with all parties remaining tight-lipped about the outcome.
This development comes just two days after Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan visited Manipur, accompanied by Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka. During their two-day visit, they assessed the situation in the tribal-dominated districts of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, as well as Imphal East.
On Monday, Mohan and Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing fencing work along the 398-km India-Myanmar border and the state’s law and order situation. Officials from the civil administration, Army, paramilitary forces, and other security agencies participated in the meeting.
A Raj Bhavan official said the review included updates on border fencing, public order, and developmental initiatives. The Home Secretary also visited several relief camps and took stock of the conditions of those displaced by the ongoing violence.
Last month, several MLAs and leaders from the Kuki-Zo communities held a meeting in Guwahati, urging the Centre to resume talks with the Kuki outfits under the SoO pact.
The United Peoples’ Front and the Kuki National Organisation—two umbrella groups of 23 underground outfits—had signed the Suspension of Operation agreement with the Centre on 22 August 2008. Currently, 2,266 Kuki cadres are housed in various designated camps across Manipur. The agreement was signed when the Congress was in power in the state.
Since May 2023, ethnic clashes between the Imphal Valley-based Meitei community and the hill-based Kuki-Zo groups have claimed over 260 lives and displaced thousands.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
