Leopard caged in Dibrugarh DIBRUGARH, JULY 18: A leopard was caged successfully at Godapani bridge in Dibrugarh district on Tuesday. According to locals, the leopard has been creating terror in the area for last several days. "The leopard was brought to the forest office and after check-up, the full grown leopard was released into wild," a forest official said. He further said, "The local resident of the tea garden complained us about the spotting of the leopard. We have placed a iron cage near the Godapani bridge and today the animal finally came into our trap," said a forest official. Man-animal conflict has been rising in the tea gardens of Assam due to frequent venturing of leopard in the tea garden areas.

Imphal: Several women traders have demanded the pre-merger status of Manipur in a sit-in protest following the Prime Minister’s “eerie silence” on the ongoing ethnic violence in this sensitive border state.

The female traders, under the aegis of the Manipur Women Convention, organized the protest at the historic Ima market in Imphal, demanding that the union government review the Merger Agreement signed between the then princely state of Manipur and the Indian Union in 1949.

The placards held by the women read, “Enforce the law of the land at Tengnoupal, Churachandpur, and Kangpokpi,” “Deploy state forces at Moreh,” “Stop using Indian security forces against the Meiteis,” and “Go back Assam Rifles.”

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Asem Nirmala, a representative of the Manipur Women Convention, stated that the government should not, under any circumstances, consider the demands of the Kukis, one of the ethnic tribes of Manipur.

The Kukis have been demanding a separate administration from the central government, which could lead to Manipur’s disintegration, she said.

However, Nirmala also mentioned that the demand of the Kuki Women Human Rights organization to remove state forces from the international Moreh border, adjacent to Myanmar, and deploy central forces instead could pave the way for the creation of a separate administration.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent despite the conflict entering its 75th day on Tuesday.

Nirmala, who belongs to the Meiteis, stated that people residing in the valley, especially the Meiteis, are also deprived of basic criteria such as security, freedom of speech, and communication, which are enshrined in the merger agreement.

It is also worth mentioning that the Kukis in the Moreh border town have launched agitations against the commandos working under the police station, Moreh, on several occasions, and the state government has kept silent on this matter.