Imphal: The central government has sounded a security alert in Manipur about possible terror strikes in view of the general strike seven powerful secessionist outfits have called, an official said yesterday.
“There is a possibility of the rebels attacking security forces to prove their strength. Therefore, we have sounded a security alert to all our forces. But we are ready to meet any eventuality,” Imphal West district police chief Konsam Jayanta Singh said.
The Coordination Committee (CorCom) - an umbrella grouping of seven major separatist outfits in Manipur - fighting for an independent state for the majority Meitei community in the state, has called for an 18-hour general strike starting from midnight. The outfits are protesting the erstwhile princely state of Manipur’s merger agreement with the Indian Union 63 years ago. Manipur joined the Union of India in October 1949 after a merger agreement was signed between the government of India and the then Maharaja of Manipur on September 21, 1949, which came into force from October 15, 1949.
More than 5,000 security personnel, including from Manipur Police, the army, Assam Rifles and other central paramilitary forces, have been pressed into service to thwart any untoward incident during the general strike. In the last few months, rebel groups have triggered over 20 improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, killing and injuring security forces and civilians. There are more than 20 rebel armies active in Manipur, a state bordering Myanmar, with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.
Man rescued from
17 years of captivity
Bangalore: A 35-year-old man, held captive in a dingy room for 17 years by his mother who claimed he was mentally unstable, was rescued yesterday by a lawmaker and doctors in Karnataka, police said.
Keshva Murthy, 35, was rescued from a village near Davangere in central Karnataka, about 260km from here.“We have learnt that Keshva Murthy was rescued from a house where he was kept locked up for 17 years by his mother Chowdamma at Lokkapura village near Jagulur,” Davangere Superintendent of Police Labu Ram said by phone.IANS
