
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 16
Thousands who hail from the Northeast, but were living in Bangalore, are now rushing to leave the I-T city and return to their home states as a fall-out of the recent communal clashes. This is because they fear for their safety after many reportedly received anonymous SMSes saying they would be targeted in retaliatory attacks. In fact the Morung Express was informed that one of the SMS had warned of a planned attack on ‘chinkys’ after Ramzan on August 19.
“Our relatives in the Northeast are calling us back due to security reasons,” one of the Northeast students said. Many were seen boarding trains out of Bangalore on Wednesday, even after Karnataka’s Home Minister R Ashok addressed them on the station’s PA system to reassure them of their safety.
Railway authorities confirm they have sold nearly 5,000 tickets to people bound for Guwahati and beyond. We are overbooked. We have arranged a 20-compartment special train to Guwahati, N Ramesh, senior deputy commercial manager (railways), Bangalore division, said. Given the rush for tickets, we may have to arrange more trains, Ramesh said.
It was also informed that almost all the 30 plus students of a boys hostel run by an Ao family at Shantinagar, Bangalore, are rushing for their tickets to come back home before Ramzan. The students are being called back until situation calms down. It was also learned that more trains have been arranged to ferry people from the northeast wanting to return home.
Meanwhile, many Naga students who recently graduated from Nagaland University, Northeast Hill University etc. who wanted to pursue further studies outside have cancelled their tickets and stay back.
Against the backdrop of rumours, tension and fear psychosis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has renewed appeal for peace asking the state governments to restore trust and harmony. Speaking to CNN-IBN, the Prime Minister asked the states to ensure that no one is targeted due to rumour mongering.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has sent fresh advisory to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, advising the states to be on guard against rumour spreading. According to sources, the Home Ministry has also asked the states to identify the source of SMS that caused the rumour.
Rumours of attack on the people from the Northeast have forced many to leave Hyderabad and return to their home states. Police in Hyderabad are on alert as several people belonging to the Northeastern states have left the city in the past few days.
However, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Tirumal Rao says that there is nothing to worry and asked the people from the Northeast to not panic. “There are about 1700 people from the Northeast living in the IT city. Almost 45 per cent of them have left the city in the last 4-5 days. It is mostly because of pressure and worry from their families. The situation in Hyderabad is normal. We want to tell people not to believe in rumours. We are holding meetings to build confidence. Security in certain areas is being beefed up purely as a confidence building measure,” he said.
The police are also operating two helpline numbers to report any incident of intimidation or violence. The helpline numbers are: 9490617100 and 9490617370.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been briefed about the situation in Assam and its fallout, Home Ministry sources said. Home Ministry sources say other than Pune, no incident of Northeast people being attacked have been reported. The Intelligence Bureau and Karnataka Police have begun a probe into the source of the rumours that have led to people fleeing from Bangalore, say sources.
The Karnataka Police has given a helpline number for the people from the Northeast - 9480801020.
(With inputs from news agencies)