Title - state offers protection to people from Northeast

Bangalore: Police on Wednesday sought to allay fears among people from the Northeast living in Bangalore by assuring them full protection. Special police squads have been deployed in areas inhabited by people from the region. A special nodal officer, VS D’Souza, has been appointed to address their apprehensions.
    The measures come against the backdrop of fear that they would be attacked.
    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called chief minister Jagadish Shettar late on Wednesday evening to enquire about the situation. “I have assured the PM that no untoward incident will happen and full protection will be given to northeastern people in the state. I have asked home minister R Ashoka and the police chief to give full protection and monitor the situation round the clock. We will do everything to instill confidence among the migrants. People are panicky due to rumours that they will be attacked. No untoward incident has happened in the state,” Shettar said.
    Hundreds of people from the region are heading home if one goes by the number of tickets sold by the railways here. 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, told TOI. The special train left at 11pm on Wednesday, followed by the Bangalore-Guwahati Express.
    DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachau attributed the apprehensions to rumours and said no incident of intimidation of north-eastern people has come to the notice of police. PANIC REACTION In Bangalore, People Flee Following Rumours | In Mysore And Hubli, Stabbing Of 22-Yr-Old Youth Creates Tension Rumours force people home
Bangalore: Hundreds of people from the Northeast flocked to the City railway station on Wednesday to catch the two trains to Guwahait. One was a special train organized to cope with the rush.
    Not all passengers on Platform no 4 were doing so out of panic following rumours of attacks on north-easterners. Most of the people heading home were workers in restaurants, beauty parlours and hotels. There was a fair number of policemen around to send a message of reassurance.
    “Yes, I heard of the rumors doing the rounds but I never took them seriously,” said Tapas B who works for a software company. He was heading home to Guwahati for a vacation.
    Mukund Tamang, who works for a Chinese restaurant, said, “A few locals barged into my house last week and asked me to go back home. They warned me that if I didn’t, I would face severe consequences.” He’s from Darjeeling, West Bengal and said though he’s not from the Northeast, he was mistaken to be from that part of the country.


COME BACK SOON: Hundreds of people from the northeastern states boarded trains at the Bangalore City station for Guwahati on Wednesday night



ON THEIR WAY: Panic-stricken people wait at City Railway station on Wednesday