REGIONAL

AIZAWL, OCT 19: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Monday invited his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu to explore investment opportunities in the northeastern state and sought his intervention in facilitating job opportunities for Mizo youths in the southern state, an official statement here said. Lalduhoma met Naidu at the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s official residence in Amaravati, where the two leaders discussed several issues of mutual interest and scope for greater cooperation. Lalduhoma urged Naidu to encourage investors from Andhra Pradesh to explore opportunities in Mizoram and expressed his desire for increased cooperation between the two states. Naidu assured Lalduhoma that his government would extend all possible support and follow up on the requests. Lalduhoma was received by Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT and Education Nara Lokesh, the son of Naidu, upon his arrival in Amaravati, the statement said. (Source: PTI)

NAGAON, OCT 18: The eviction drive in Assam’s Nagaon district continued on Sunday, with authorities clearing encroached land in the Lutumari Reserved Forest for the second day, an official said. Around 500 families are being evicted from the protected area, with the exercise likely to continue on Monday as well, he said. “These families had obtained a stay order from a court when eviction was carried out in this area last year. After meeting all legal requirements and obtaining clearances, we resumed the eviction drive here today,” the official said. The forest department, district civil and police administration, and other relevant departments were jointly carrying out the exercise, which proceeded peacefully, he said. “Several families had already left with their belongings. There has been no untoward incident,” the official added. Excavators were deployed to demolish structures in the encroached areas, with the operation being conducted under heavy security arrangements. The first phase of the eviction drive in the Lutumari Reserved Forest was carried out in November 2025. Around 500-600 families had approached the court, claiming legal rights over the land. With the court rejecting their claims, the eviction drive is now being carried out, officials said. An anti-encroachment drive was also conducted in the Borpani Reserved Forest area of Nagaon on Saturday. Similar exercises were carried out in parts of Hojai and Golaghat districts on Saturday, affecting more than 500 families, officials had said. (Source: PTI)    

GUWAHATI, OCT 18: One person was arrested with 30,000 banned Yaba tablets worth Rs 7.5 crore in Assam’s Kamrup district, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday. He said the operation was carried out by the state police’s Special Task Force (STF) in Amingaon on Saturday night.   “Fighting the evils: Every Day, Every Hour! In an Intel backed operation last night, @STFAssam intercepted a courier who was carrying 30,000 YABA tablets en route lower Assam, in Amingaon,” Sarma said in a social media post. He said the accused was arrested and the drugs worth Rs 7.5 crore seized. Yaba tablet, known as “crazy medicine” in Thai, is a highly addictive drug, containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. (Source: PTI)

IMPHAL, OCT 18: The Manipur government on Sunday transferred the SP of Kamjong district with immediate effect, a day after a Kuki civilian was killed in a gun attack by suspected militants, officials said. A statement by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms said Manipur Police Service officer Tholu Rocky, who was in charge of SP Kamjong, had been transferred with immediate effect until further orders. He will take charge as additional director of the Manipur Police Training College. Meanwhile, IPS officer Jay Barrage, who was serving as additional SP (Law and Order), Imphal West, will take charge as SP (in-charge) of Kamjong, the statement said. The transfer came a day after a 36-year-old civilian was killed and four others injured in an attack on Chassad village, a Kuki settlement in the Naga-majority district. Fifteen houses in the hill village were also set on fire by suspected militants on Saturday night, officials said. Meanwhile, several Naga women staged a protest against the transfer of the senior police officer at Kamjong district headquarters on Sunday evening. The protesters alleged that the transfer followed a request made by a Kuki MLA to the chief minister and the state home minister Govindas Konthoujam. (Source: PTI)

GANGTOK, OCT 17: The opposition SDF on Saturday demanded that the CBI inquiry into the murder of Ankita Bhandari be completed before Governor-designate Dushyant Gautam assumes office in Sikkim, holding candlelight vigils across four locations in the state to express solidarity with the victim’s family. The party held district-wide vigils at its headquarters in Gangtok and district offices in Namchi and Gyalshing, besides its Jorethang party office. The opposition parties have been alleging that Gautam, a senior BJP leader, was the “VIP” who sought favours from Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old hotel receptionist in Uttarakhand, before she was killed in 2022. “The SDF calls for a fair and impartial examination of the outstanding questions raised by Ankita’s family and reiterates that the CBI inquiry must be completed before Dushyant Gautam assumes office as Governor of Sikkim,” the party said in the statement. A total of 108 candles were lit at each location in memory of Bhandari, symbolising remembrance, solidarity and the demand for justice, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) said in a press statement. Komal Chamling, vice president in charge of the SDF Women’s Front, earlier described Gautam’s appointment to the gubernatorial post while the inquiry remains pending as “an insult to the people of Sikkim”. Raising concerns over the constitutional immunity available to Governors under Article 361 of the Constitution, the SDF statement said, “Anyone found responsible must be held accountable in accordance with the law.” Bhandari’s family deserved justice, the opposition party said. Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices were convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment. The case drew political attention over allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. Bhandari’s family and activists have called for an investigation into this angle, with Gautam’s name being raised in connection with the allegations. Gautam has denied the allegations and initiated defamation proceedings against those making them. In a letter to President Droupadi Murmu recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that no criminal proceedings can be instituted or continued against a governor and appointing Gautam as governor places him “out of reach” of the CBI, which is probing the case. (Source: IANS)      

GUWAHATI, OCT 16: Assam Police’s latest anti-drug campaign ‘Think Before You Dope’ has clocked approximately 4.6 million views in just three days, striking a chord with young audiences on social media, officials said on Friday. The campaign, rolled out between October 10 and 13, used sharp, witty and visual creatives in English and Assamese to open conversations on drug abuse, peer pressure and exploitation. “We have consistently used the language and idioms of social media, its humour, wordplay and cultural references to connect with people, particularly younger people on issues that matter,” Assam Police DGP Harmeet Singh told PTI. With #ThinkBeforeYouDope, the Assam Police is using that understanding to carry a serious and very relevant message, he added. “When young people share it in their own circles, they not only become part of the conversation against drugs, but add serious resonance to the message,” Singh asserted. Salik Khan, Creative Consultant of Assam Police, said that the campaign has drawn approximately 4.6 million views, demonstrating how a serious public message can find an audience when its delivery connects with their everyday lives. “Connecting with Gen Z requires more than being present on the platforms they use. It requires understanding their humour, recognising the pressures they face and communicating without talking down to them,” he added. An official of Assam Police’s Social Media Centre ‘Nagarik Mitra’ said that through English and Assamese creatives, the force has used wit to open conversations about peer pressure, drug dependence and exploitation on social media. Lines like ‘Your nose has one job. Breathing. Not snorting’ turned a simple observation into an anti-drug message, while ‘Your dealer isn’t your friend. You’re his recurring payment’ challenged the trust and familiarity that can draw young people into drug use, he emphasised. The senior official said the humour gives the message an entry point, while the seriousness of the issue remains central and each creative is designed to make people pause, think and pass the message on. “This approach builds on Assam Police’s record of widely shared digital campaigns. Initiatives such as #DontBeASharent, addressing children’s privacy online, and #ThinkBeforeYouBelieve, encouraging citizens to question AI-based synthetic media and misinformation, have brought public concerns into conversations shaped by digital culture,” he added. The response of such campaigns offered another example of what public communication can achieve when it is rooted in an understanding of its audience, the official in the social media wing said. “For us, such communication is an opportunity to build trust, encourage dialogue and make citizens active participants in awareness. Assam Police urges young people, parents, educators and communities to carry the conversation forward and support a drug-free Assam,” he added. (Source: PTI)  

AIZAWL, OCT 16: Mizoram on Friday launched the SUMAN roadmap 2030, aimed at reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths and ensuring timely, dignified and quality healthcare for women during pregnancy and childbirth. State Health and Family Welfare Minister Lalrinpuii launched the roadmap at a state-level review meeting of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) programme here. The roadmap is part of the Centre’s Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative, launched in 2019 to ensure quality healthcare for pregnant women and newborns. Launching the roadmap, Lalrinpuii said the initiative represented the government’s renewed commitment to protecting mothers and newborns and strengthening the public healthcare system. She said the roadmap aimed to bring maternal mortality below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030, besides further reducing newborn and child mortality and preventing avoidable deaths. The health minister urged district authorities, programme officers and health facility in-charges to accord priority to maternal and newborn health and called for greater coordination among government departments, organisations and communities. She said the success of the roadmap would ultimately be measured by timely care received by mothers, newborn lives saved and maternal and newborn deaths prevented. Health Secretary Lalzarmawii, who spoke on the occasion, said Mizoram had made considerable progress in maternal and child healthcare, with institutional deliveries reaching around 93 per cent in 2025-26 and first-trimester antenatal registration at about 81 per cent. However, institutional deliveries remained comparatively low in two southern districts- Lawngtlai and Lunglei and Mamit, the lone aspirational district in the state, while home deliveries without the assistance of skilled birth attendants continued to be reported, she said. Lalzarmawii also directed officials to translate the findings of the review meeting into concrete action and ensure timely follow-up at the state and district levels. (Source: PTI)