Mizoram awaits Centre's assistance for providing shelter to 12,600 people from Manipur
Aizawl (PTI): The Mizoram government is still waiting for financial assistance from the Centre for providing shelter to over 12,600 people from ethnic strife-torn Manipur, a senior official said.
Mizoram Home Commissioner and Secretary H Lalengmawia said that Chief Minister Zoramthanga had, in May, sought Rs 10 crore as an immediate relief package for those displaced people.
"We have not received any assistance from the Centre so far. The state government has raised funds on its own to provide relief to internally displaced people from Manipur," Lalengmawia told PTI on Sunday.
He hoped that the Centre would soon sanction funds for these people, who have taken shelter in Mizoram after the ethnic violence broke out in the neighbouring state on May 3.
Lalengmawia also said the Mizoram administration has solicited donations from legislators, government employees, bankers and others.
"We have completed the collection and I am yet to receive a report of the total collected amount," he said.
According to the Mizoram home department, altogether 12,611 people from Manipur have taken shelter in the state till Friday.
Of them, 4,440 took shelter in Kolasib district, 4,265 in Aizawl and 2,951 in Saitual, it said.
The remaining 955 are residing in Champhai, Mamit, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Lunglei, Serchhip, Khawzawl and Hnahthial districts.
The government and village authorities have set up 38 relief camps in Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual.
The state government, NGOs, churches and villagers provided food and other basic items to the displaced people.
Clashes first broke out in early May in Manipur after a Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
