Imphal, Oct 10: Three people, including a woman, were killed in fresh clashes between armed groups in Manipur’s Kamjong and Ukhrul districts in the past 24 hours, while Kamjong police station was reportedly set on fire, officials said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, police have dismissed reports and video circulating on social media that the Kamjong police station was burnt.

The violence also spread to parts of Kangpokpi district, where a heavy exchange of fire between armed groups was reported. Several houses were reportedly torched in the clashes, raising fresh concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the state.

A police official said that a 23-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were killed in Chassad village in Kuki-majority Kamjong district, which is predominantly inhabited by the Naga community. The woman, identified as Domkhonei Touthang, a mother of five, sustained a gunshot wound near her neck on Friday night and died within minutes, the official said.

According to the official, her killing triggered an exchange of fire between armed Kuki and Naga groups, which continued into Saturday morning. The man, identified as Michael Ngamminlen Haokip, was killed in the ensuing clashes. Ten houses were also reportedly burnt during the violence.

In a separate incident in Ukhrul district, a 40-year-old man, identified as Sandeep Rai, was shot dead near Chepu Yaolen after suspected militants allegedly opened fire on his vehicle. Rai, who belonged to the Nepali community, died inside the car he was driving, the police official said.

A heavy exchange of fire between armed groups was also reported at Makui Ashang and Tapon along the IT Road in Kangpokpi district.

Following the violence in Chassad, the Kamjong district administration imposed prohibitory restrictions within a 400-metre radius of Chassad Police Gate Junction to prevent further escalation and maintain law and order. The District Magistrate issued the order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prohibiting the assembly of five or more people, the carrying of firearms and other potentially dangerous objects, and movement within the restricted area.

Security personnel, magistrates on duty and personnel engaged in essential services have been exempted from the restrictions.

Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, in a post on X, claimed that seven people had been killed in violent incidents across different parts of the state in a single day. He said suspected Myanmar-based militants had reportedly attacked Ningchou village in Kamjong district, while deadly violence had also been reported along Makui IT Road and in Chassad.

“Even a police station in Kamjong has reportedly been burnt down. Further, two Nagas from Makui Ashang village in Kangpokpi district have also been reported missing,” Singh said. He also referred to the killing of Sandeep Rai in an alleged ambush by Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) cadres at Yolen, near TM Kasom Litan in Ukhrul district, describing the incidents as evidence of violence spreading across communities.

“What is going on? How weak have we become that armed militants can kill people, burn down police stations and challenge the authority of the Indian state with such impunity?” he asked. Singh demanded the recovery of all illegally held weapons, decisive operations against armed militant groups and stronger security along the India-Myanmar border.

He urged both state and central security forces to act without further delay.

Meanwhile, Kuki organisations offered a different account of the incident in Chassad. According to these organisations, the violence erupted when a group of women protested against the alleged arrest and detention of village volunteers.

The Kuki Human Rights Forum (KHRF) claimed that Touthang was shot while participating in the protest and died on Friday night. Several Kuki organisations, including the KHRF, the Kuki Students’ Organisation and the Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul, condemned her killing and demanded the strongest action against the security personnel allegedly responsible.

Separately, houses belonging to Tangkhul Naga villagers were reportedly set ablaze by unidentified persons during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Injuries on both sides were also reported, though official confirmation was awaited.

Amid the escalating tensions, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) announced a 24-hour total shutdown across Kangpokpi district from 6 p.m. on Saturday.

In a statement, the CoTU cited reported attacks in Chassad in Kamjong district, Yaolen in Ukhrul district and along the IT Road in Kangpokpi district, warning that the incidents posed a serious threat to civilian lives and security.

The organisation said the possibility of further attacks in vulnerable areas required urgent precautionary measures to protect civilians and prevent further escalation.

More than 40 people have reportedly been killed and numerous houses torched since clashes between Kuki and Naga communities broke out in February this year. The violence has largely been concentrated in Ukhrul, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong and Noney districts, as well as parts of Senapati district.

Hyderabad, Oct 9: Licences of shops selling prohibited synthetic manja must be cancelled, Telangana’s Head of Forest Force, Vinay Kumar, on Friday directed officials.

He asked officials to take stringent measures to curb the sale and use of synthetic manja and protect Indian rollers and other wildlife.

He was speaking at a review meeting with senior officials of various government departments held at Aranya Bhavan here on Friday to discuss these issues.

As synthetic manja is being supplied from other States, particularly Rajasthan and Gujarat, Vinay Kumar instructed officials to intensify surveillance on supplies originating from these States.

He directed Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials to issue instructions to shop owners not to sell synthetic manja and to take stringent action against those violating the rules.

According to an official release, the Head of Forest Force instructed the police to establish special surveillance to prevent the sale of Chinese manja through online platforms.

He emphasised the need to identify sales of synthetic manja on e-commerce websites and coordinate with the concerned organisations to curb such sales.

He also instructed officials to put up posters at all public places, including bus stations, railway stations, markets and other crowded locations, to create public awareness about the ban on synthetic manja.

Vinay Kumar stated that the School Education Department should create awareness among students and their parents about the dangers posed by the use of Chinese manja to human beings and birds.

He further instructed officials to advise bus drivers and conductors to inform the Forest Department helpline if they identify the illegal transportation of synthetic manja or the transportation of Indian rollers and other wildlife on buses.

During the meeting, it was brought to notice that voluntary organisations had lodged complaints regarding the use of Chinese manja at the Kite Festival organised by the Tourism Department.

The Head of Forest Force instructed officials to ensure that synthetic manja was not permitted under any circumstances at this year’s festival and that any synthetic manja identified should be confiscated immediately.

Vinay Kumar directed officials to take measures to prevent Indian rollers from being kept in cages for display at Durga pandals. He instructed Endowments Department officials to ensure that these directions were implemented at all temples. He emphasised that all departments should work in coordination to protect wildlife.

CCFs Priyanka Varghese and Kshitija, CF Prasad, and senior officials from the Police, GHMC, HMDA, School Education, Cinematography, Information and Public Relations, Electricity, Pollution Control Board and Tourism departments, along with officials from other departments, participated in the meeting.

New Delhi, Oct 9: Pakistan-based narcotic cartels are now encouraging their cronies in India to ramp up homegrown production. With agencies such as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) carrying out several drug busts, the cartels from Pakistan have decided to focus more on home-made substances to fuel their trade.

Before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, poppy fields were in abundance. Opium and heroin were coming out of Afghanistan in large quantities, and Pakistan-based cartels would rely heavily on this product.

The Taliban have taken strict measures and ensured that Afghanistan shall no longer have drug-producing fields. Instead, in the fields of Afghanistan, one gets to see potatoes, grain, and other vegetables being grown.

This decision has resulted in a drop of 95 per cent in the production of drugs. Before the Taliban took over, drugs were being produced or grown on 232,000 hectares.

Following the ban in 2022, Pakistan- and Myanmar-based drug cartels began moving towards synthetic drugs. Drugs such as methamphetamine or meth are in very high demand both in the Indian and international markets.

Unlike opium and heroin, meth can be produced all through the year. This means that the production levels would be ten times higher when compared to heroin or opium. Further, this also ensures that synthetic drugs are cheaper when compared to the field-produced narcotics.

This also drives consumption, as the affordability of such narcotics makes them accessible to a wider section of society.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that drug cartels which had set up massive synthetic drug manufacturing units in Myanmar and Pakistan are now insisting that their recruits in India do the same at home.

“This has been done due to the massive drug busts that have taken place in India in recent months. The new tactic by the narcotic cartels is similar to the one that Pakistan tries to adopt when it comes to terror-related activities,” said the IB official.

There is a major push being made for homegrown terror modules so that Pakistan can have the deniability factor each time a bust takes place, the official added.

Another official said that the creation of multiple homegrown synthetic drug producing units also eliminates the risk of the contraband being intercepted either on Indian or international waters.

The Indian agencies have literally choked every route that is being used by cartels run by the likes of Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Salim.

The Iran war has added to their miseries as the usual routes that would be used to smuggle drugs into India have largely been disrupted.

In 2024, the NCB and Delhi Police busted a clandestine meth lab in Greater Noida, adjacent to the National Capital. During the operation, the NCB seized 95 kg of meth.

Officials say that the cartels would push and also facilitate the setting up of such homegrown drug-producing units in many more parts of the country.

“There is a lot of focus being given to both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The recent drug busts have affected the southern markets and also the supplies into Sri Lanka and eventually Thailand,” officials say.

The intelligence agencies have learnt that Haji Salim, who controls this route, has been dialling his contacts in Sri Lanka, Kerala and the Maldives. He is also in touch with some of his associates who are behind bars now, the agencies have learnt.

Haji Salim has been instructing them to make all possible arrangements to set up clandestine meth-producing labs in large numbers.

These recent drug busts, which directly affected the southern markets and the other routes leading from there, have put Haji Salim under immense pressure, especially from his international dealers. He feels that ramping up homegrown production will make up for the loss.

Moreover, transporting homegrown drugs is easier than smuggling them in from Pakistan and then through the Indian waters. This, he hopes, would solve the problem, and in case of a bust, Pakistan can always deny any involvement, an official said.