Manipur govt in favour of UPSC exam centres outside state: Delhi HC told
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court was on Tuesday informed that the Manipur government is in favour of having centres outside the troubled north-eastern state for holding civil services preliminary examination, which are scheduled to be held on May 26.
The counsel appearing for the Manipur government told the court, which was hearing a plea seeking setting up of additional examination centres there for civil services and Indian Forest Service aspirants, that the chief secretary has said the government would provide monetary assistance to these aspirants for travel to centres outside the state which is in the grip of a protracted ethnic strife.
In view of the stand taken by the Manipur authorities, a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan observed that the examinations may be held outside the state, as held last year, and asked the UPSC counsel to take instructions.
"Take a call. Follow the 2023 pattern then. We will ask UPSC to take instructions. Prima facie we are of this view," the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said.
"Counsel for the UPSC is directed to take instructions," the court said.
Petitioner Zomi Students Federation had moved the high court last week, seeking setting up examination centres in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi in the state and reopening of the application window to enable civil services aspirants to opt for a centre of their choice.
The counsel for the Manipur government said the chief secretary of the state, in a letter addressed to him, said the state government is of the opinion that given the situation and to maintain the sanctity of the examination, it may not be appropriate to provide centres in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.
The letter suggested that students in Manipur, who have to take the civil services examination, may be allotted centres outside the state and financial assistance would be provided to them.
The counsel stated that even last year, the civil services examinations were held in centres outside Manipur.
Counsel for the UPSC had earlier told the court that the commission has already written three letters to the Manipur chief secretary with respect to opening of examination centres in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul but no response has been received yet.
Manipur plunged into violence in May 2023 over a high court order directing the state government to consider including the non-tribal Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
This order led to rampant ethnic clashes. More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
The matter would be heard next on March 22.
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J-K: Six held with drugs, assets worth Rs 73 lakh attached in Udhampur
Jammu (PTI): Six persons were taken into custody during an intensified anti-narcotics crackdown, with police recovering contraband substances and over Rs 23 lakh in Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.
In a parallel action, properties worth over Rs 73 lakh linked to drug peddlers were also attached in Udhampur district under relevant legal provisions, the police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mohd Aslam said three persons, including a woman, were detained during a raid on a house at Dak Mohalla in the main town following recovery of 85 grams of suspected brown sugar and over Rs 23 lakh on Sunday evening.
He identified the woman as Zareena Begum, stating that she had been under police surveillance following inputs indicating her involvement in drug peddling.
Besides Zareena, officials said her daughter and son-in-law were also picked up by police during the raid.
“We have taken three individuals into custody. Their roles are being examined, and based on that, arrests will be made. We are continuing raids at other suspected locations,” Aslam said.
Three drug peddlers --Pardeep Singh of Hiranagar, Rahees Butt of Billawar and Ali Sen of Amritsar (Punjab) -- were arrested along with heroin at different places in Kathua district, a police spokesman said.
He said while 2.79 gm of heroin was seized from Singh, 2.66 gm were recovered Butt. Similarly, 303 gm of heroin was seized from Sen who was intercepted near Berrian-Pattan village while moving in a private car from Bhagthali to Maggar Khad on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
All the three were booked under the NDPS Act and further investigations are on, the spokesman said.
In Udhampur, the spokesman said properties worth Rs 73 lakh were attached in two separate cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The attached properties included a newly constructed residential house, a car, a motorcycle and a mobile phone with a total value of Rs 65 Lakh, belonging to accused Saif Ali who was booked under the NDPS case in Majalta area early this year, he said.
In another action, movable property worth Rs 8 lakh comprising a car, belonging to accused Danish Butt of Doda has been attached under Section 68(F) NDPS Act in connection with an FIR registered at Rehambal police station, the spokesman said.
