RailEnquiry

Driven by rumours of impending attacks, the exodus of people from the North East spread from Bangalore to neighbouring cities on the third day today, prompting the Centre to ban for 15 days bulk SMSes and MMSes across the country.Notwithstanding assurances of safety by the Centre and the Karnataka government to the people of the North East, hordes of them living in Mysore, Mangalore and Kodagu made a beeline to the railway ticket counters here to return to their states.More than 15,000 people have fled the city in the past two days following the rumours, officials said today.The Railways had sold 9,718 tickets for the two special trains that headed to Guwahati last night, Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore, Anil Kumar Agarwal, said.Officials estimate the number of people from the North East, including students, residing in Bangalore in the range of 2.5 lakh and 2.75 lakh.In Chennai, over 1,000 people from the North East were reported to have taken trains out of the city.To check the spread of rumours, Centre today clamped a 15-day ban of bulk SMSes and MMSes across the country.The decision was taken after reports of widespread circulation of SMSes and MMSes containing misleading information about Assam violence and threats of attacks to people from the North Eastern region.Under the order, no one from today will be able to send more than 5 SMSes in one go and more than 20KB of data through mobile phones during the ban period.The exodus issue figured in both Houses of Parliament with members expressing solidarity with the people hailing from the North East.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said miscreants spreading rumours that have led to people belonging to North East flee from Bangalore, Pune and other parts of the country, should be brought to book and noted that at stake is not just unity and integrity of the country, but also communal harmony.

A resolution passed in the Rajya Sabha expressed "serious concern at the feeling of persecution of our brothers and sisters of the northastern states, who are leaving various cities and returning to the North East.

"...The mischief mongers and anti-national elements behind the electronic campaign to create panic should be urgently investigated by the authorities," the resolution read out by Chairman Hamid Ansari said.

The Karnataka government continued to reach out to the community urging them to stay on and assured them that it is committed to safeguarding their lives and property in the state.

"We on behalf of people of Karnataka and Government once again reassure the people of the North Eastern Community that

they are safe and welcome in Karnataka," the Government said in an advertisement, signed by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Home Minister R Ashoka, published in newspapers today.

The government said no violent incidents have been reported. "We thereby urge not to heed to rumours and rest assured that stringent security measures have been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents".

Strict action would be taken against anyone spreading rumours. "We also request the north-eastern media not to go by unconfirmed reports which can create further fear and confusion," Shettar and Ashoka said.

The state government has decided to deploy six companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in different parts of the city to instil a sense of confidence among the panic-stricken community.

As rumours spread thick and fast, the Andhra Pradesh Police reassured people from the North East region of their safety.

"Hyderabad is known for its communal harmony.. and I am assuring the Assamese people of their safety and they should not panic by rumours. For the past two days, we are reviewing the situation. No attacks (on Assamese) happened in Hyderabad," State Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad.