Itanagar/Thir-uvanan-thapuram: In a bid to reach out to Northeasterners, chartered flights from Guwahati to ferry students back to Maharashtra at concessional rates and free ‘Onam festival Kits’ containing food provisions in Kerala are among the measures taken by respective state governments.
Four persons in Pune were meanwhile arrested by the cyber crime branch of the City police in connection with inflammatory SMSes circulated there to allegedly foment violence against the northeastern residents.
Three Nagaland-based Muslim organizations have also constituted a goodwill team to visit Bangalore, Pune and other cities from today to help bring the present situation to complete normalcy after the exodus of Northeasterners from these places.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is reported to have told a goodwill team from Arunachal Pradesh led by MP Takan Sanjoy that concessional chartered flights from Guwahati would be offered to students from the northeast wanting to return their educational institutions in Pune or Mumbai.
In a statement, Sanjoy quoted Chavan as saying, “If state governments send written requisitions, officials will be ready to receive students at airports to escort them to their institutions with full security.”
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said free Onam Kits with various food articles will be supplied to migrant workers from northeast through the Labour department. An amount of Rs. 10 crore has been sanctioned for the purpose. “It is an Onam gift and greetings to migrant workers and to assure them that they are safe in the state,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after a cabinet meeting. Onam festival falls next week.
Asked about reports that Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI) was behind sending the SMSs that triggered an exodus of workers from North-East states from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Chandy said government was examining the matter.
“If someone is found guilty, action would be taken as per law,” Chandy added.
In Pune, Police said a case was filed against the four arrested persons under section 153 (a) of IPC for creating enmity between two groups on grounds of religion and also section 66 of Information Technology Act According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (cyber cell) Sanjay Shinde, the four suspects, arrested last night, were well versed with computer technology. (PTI)