Rush Hour: Assam Rifles refutes ‘influx’ claim, Bengali-speaking students attacked in Kolkata & more

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The Assam Rifles said that a comment by its director general on the mapping of Myanmarese citizens in India had been misconstrued to claim that people from across the border were staying in India illegally. The director general, Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera, said on Wednesday that about 42,000 Myanmarese nationals in India have been mapped with the help of biometrics and other government mechanisms since December.

The mapping, he said, was being conducted after the new policy related to the “free movement” regime came into effect. Since the 1970s, people living within 16 kms on each side of the largely unfenced border have been allowed visa-free movement.

Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had cited Lakhera's statement to claim that Myanmarese citizens had been illegally crossing over into India. But the Assam Rifles director general had been referring to temporary crossings under the free movement regime. Read more.

Four Calcutta University students were allegedly assaulted in Kolkata and called “Bangladeshi” for speaking in Bengali. Two persons have been arrested in connection with the attack.

The alleged incident took place when one of the students, a resident...

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