North-East mass exodus declines in Pune, Maharashtra

, Aug 19: A relative decline was observed since last night in the number of people from the Northeast heading for their home states in wake of the recent attacks in Pune, official sources said.

Although many continued to board the 'Azad Hind Express' that goes to Howrah, the number of students and workers from Assam and Manipur rushing to the railway station out of panic was gradually decreasing, a railway official said.

In Mumbai too, no unusual rush was witnessed on the trains heading for West Bengal and North East, Central Railway sources said.

Thousands of North easterners had been leaving Pune following sporadic attacks in certain localities since Aug 12, in which over a dozen persons suffered.

Police have arrested 13 persons in connection with the incidents. The confidence building measures undertaken by police and local help groups as well as public representatives was having a positive impact on the people who were returning mainly due to summons from their worried relatives from the North East, a police official said.

P Brojan, an MLA from Manipur who has been camping in the city to boost the morale of the affected people, said the security measures stepped up by the authorities were helping the students and workers from the Northeastern states to stay back in the city as the situation had eased considerably.

"I am persuading them to stay back and not press the panic button as the security situation has improved in the city," he told reporters here after attending a peace committee meeting here. Despite the improved situation, a report from Swar gate area of Pune city said a youth from Manipur was robbed of his cellphone in an incident last night.

Police said they rushed to the spot immediately to register a complaint. Meanwhile, police have also registered an offence under the IT Act against unknown persons for circulating doctored MMS and SMSes regarding violence in Assam to intimidate and threaten people, which led to the exodus.

PTI