vaiphei blog - vaiphei online resoure: Sep 9, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

UG cadres held

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MPHAL, Sep 8 : Two cadres of the proscribed PREPAK have been apprehended by troops of 29 AR while checking a Tata Sumo at Tengnoupal check-post at about 6 am yesterday, said an AR PTO release.
The PREPAK cadres have been identified as Sanjit (31) s/o Ningthemjao of Thoubal Wangma Taba and Sushil Kumar (23) s/o Chandramani of Uchiwa Wangma. They have been handed over to Imphal West PS, the PRO added.
Manipuri student among five hurt in Sikkim college brawl
By Our Staff Reporter
Imphal, Sep 8: At least five north east students including a Manipuri girl were injured when they engaged a fierce scuffle with some students of the same region at Sikkim Manipal engineering college today.
Sources said they, four of whom are Assamese, were bashed up by a group of students in their revenge strike triggering a panicky situation in the prestigious institute.
Of the five, three of them including the Manipuri girl, received severe injuries as a result of which they were kept at the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital, the sources added.
Though the situation was brought under control, Sikkim government is contemplating sending the injured students to their respective states.
On being contacted, a senior state official said no information on the matter was intimated from his Sikkim counterpart.

Appraising SoO

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ecent developments have more or less conveyed the point that the much hyped tripartite Suspension of Operations between New Delhi, Imphal and Kuki armed groups, may not be proceeding in the right direction at all. And it goes without saying that the primary factor for this is the failure to adhere to the ground rules, scripted for the successful implementation of the truce call. The detention of two girls, by a group, which is a signatory to the SoO, is an example, of how some of these groups continue to operate under the immunity granted by the agreement, signed with the Government. The two girls, as the report went, were rescued by alert villagers, who heard their cries, but this has not in any way diminished the growing perception that the SoO has hardly managed to keep a check on the activities of the groups concerned. The recent ransacking of Nungshong village, allegedly by another outfit which is a party to the SoO, also goes to prove this point. In as much as the armed groups have to be held accountable for the blatant violations of the cease fire ground rules, the Government too cannot escape from its responsibilities. For instance, have Delhi and Imphal managed to identify and set up all the designated camps ? How about the safe house, where the arms of the cadres are to be deposited ? Have any action been taken up when the ground rules are violated ? Apart from these unanswered questions, there is also the growing uneasiness and suspicion, that some of the security forces, might be using the service of some of these cadres, to neutralise or strike out at other groups, which are not a party to the truce pact. Such tactics and strategies are not only mischievous but also extremely dangerous, for it can have communal intonations.
Any suspension of hostility should always be welcomed and hailed, for this is the first step in the journey towards peace and normalcy. However when any such truce pact is seen and understood as the perfect alibi to the armed groups to regroup and regain lost ground, by taking advantage of the immunity granted to them, then it rings hollow. On the one hand, it means, enjoying the largesse of the Government in the form, of what they call monthly stipend and on the other hand, it means, giving them a free hand to pursue their agenda. Peace and the truth are the only casualties in such cases. It is the people who suffer from such a situation, for under the facade of peace and normalcy, the common people continue to be pulled and pushed in different directions, by both the State and non-State actors. The peace that one talks about under such circumstances is merely the guns going silent, which again can be misleading, if we take the recent reported shoot out at Mokot Chephu village under Litan police station. Peace, in its true essence, should mean something much more than merely the guns going silent, but should entail, giving the opportunity to the people to live without an air of fear or tension hanging over their heads. Can we really say this has been achieved, with the enforcement of the SoO ? The answer should be known to all and herein lies exposed the irony of the peace pact.

Fuel cartel makes hay with fake keys to oil tankers

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MPHAL, Sep 8: Police are yet to arrest the driver and the owner of the oil tanker, which caught fire, while siphoning off fuel on the sly at Shantipur in Awang Leikinthabi under Sekmai Police Station on August 29.
On the other hand, an independent investigation conducted by The Sangai Express on how siphoning of oil in unauthorised manner from the oil tanker could be possible, have led to the discovery that some of the drivers and the owners of the oil tankers use fake keys, which work as well as the orginal ones.
Taking serious note of the incident that could have endangered the lives of many people, Sekmai Police Station registered an FIR against the driver identified as Tomba and the owner identified as Rajen under the relevant provisions of the Petroleum Act, 1933. However, the police have not been able to arrest them as both the accused have fled.
Talking to The Sangai Express in this connection, Officer in-charge of Sekmai Police Station said that police have issued an arrest warrant against the driver Tomba and the owner Rajen. But both have gone hiding although unofficial source said that both of them surrendered before a Court. The matter would be known within the next couple of days.
The CO pointed out that siphoning of oil in unauthorised manner had led to major fire incidents at Moirang-khom, in front of Uripok Jas Gas, Lamshang, Kwakeithel and Kakwa Nameirakpam Leikai in the past.
In an independent investigation conducted into the modus operadi of siphoning off fuel, it came to light that some of the drivers and owners of the oil tankers maintain counterfeit keys.
Soon after filling the oil at Tinsukia, the IOC officials have to lock the tankers.
One of the keys would be in the custody of the IOC officials at Tinsukia while another key would be in the custody of the IOC officials at Chingmeirong.
At the time of unloading the oil at the Chingmeirong oil depot, the responsible IOC officials have to unlock the key.
At any point in between Tinsukia and Imphal, the drivers are not permitted to unlock the keys and locks of the tankers are manufactured by Godrej Company to ensure prevention of possible tampering.
Interestingly, counterfeit keys that can unlock the locks of Godrej Company can be made in Manipur today. According to reliable sources, drivers and owners of the oil tankers can easily get these counterfeit keys by paying Rs 2500 and there are some drivers who are in possession of these counterfeit keys in Manipur.
The sources further disclosed that there are around 20 places in Manipur where siphoning of oil in unauthorised manner and then adulterating the content of the oil tankers before being unloaded at the depot is being carried out.
Even the people of the localities know about these illegal practices which could even endanger the lives of the people and cause damages to their properties in case of mishap. Yet no one has lodged any complaint in this regard.
Some of the oil tanker drivers whom The Sangai Express came into contact during the course of the investigation admitted that some of the drivers do possess fake keys and the incident of an oil tanker on catching fire at Shantipur in Awang Leikinthabi recently occurred while the lock of the tanker was being opened with counterfeit key to siphon off the fuel.
The drivers further disclosed that earlier oil tankers which do not fulfil the safety norms were allowed to unload the content at the oil depot after the security at the gate charged money from them.
But nowadays, all the oil tankers regardless of whether they conform to the safety norms or not are being charged anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 100.