Meghalaya

Indian football team assistant coach Mahesh Gawali praised Meghalaya’s Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Stadium as "one of the best football grounds in the country" during his inspection on February 18. Gawali visited Shillong to review the stadium and North-Eastern Hill University’s practice ground ahead of two major international matches in March. The All India Football Federation confirmed that JN Stadium will host a FIFA friendly against Maldives on March 19 and an AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier against Bangladesh on March 25. During the inspection, Gawali assessed the pitch, stands, changing rooms, and ongoing improvements. He also discussed the potential installation of portable changing rooms with Meghalaya Football Association Vice-President Cliff Nongrum. “Establishing permanent facilities...

The banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council is allegedly making a fresh bid to recruit vulnerable youth through online radicalisation tactics. This disturbing development coincides with a significant political shift in Bangladesh.  Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, a spurt in militant activities has been witnessed, further emboldening extremist groups across the Northeastern region. These efforts, though not entirely successful, have led some individuals down a dangerous path before eventually surrendering to authorities, reports said. Authorities have noted a concerning trend that online radicalisation has become a primary tool for HNLC to spread its ideology. They also confirmed that few individuals had actually joined the outfit only to surrender later. The HN...

The High Court of Meghalaya has quashed the FIR and the chargesheet filed against former Meghalaya Director General of Police Lajja Ram Bishnoi in a case pertaining to alleged misuse and tampering of a vehicle registration number. Bishnoi had filed a criminal petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 praying that the FIR registered with the Sadar police station be set aside and quashed. In its judgement and order passed on Tuesday, the single bench court of Justice Biswadeep Bhattacharjee said the brief fact of the case is that former police official Gabriel K Iangrai lodged an FIR with the Sadar police station against Bishnoi on May 9, 2024, alleging misuse and tampering of registration number of the vehicle in the use of the petitioner in the capacity of the ...

Prominent Shillong-based singer Lamphang Syiemlieh confessed to engaging in deliberate identity theft and misuse of personal information for over a year and a half. Syiemlieh made the confession public through a detailed social media post, acknowledging that he had created fake profiles on Facebook under the names "audreyas962" and "Lakysha A." He admitted to using photographs stolen from an unidentified woman’s social media account without her permission. "I have contacted countless men, sending them sexually explicit messages for the last year and a half," Syiemlieh wrote in his statement. "I had consciously and deliberately stolen and abused this woman's identity for my own sexual interests and gratification." Relatives of Syiemlieh reportedly confronted him about his online behavio...

Despite facing stiff resistance from pressure groups in Meghalaya against the Tetelia-Byrnihat and the Byrnihat-Shillong railway projects, the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR) is now looking to connect Jowai in West Jaintia Hills with a railway line from Chaparmukh in Nagaon district of Assam. As per reports, a 180-kilometre broad gauge railway line extending from Chaparmukh Junction in Assam to Jowai in Meghalaya has been included by the NFR in key surveys targeting development of new railway lines in the Northeast. The proposed railway route is set to traverse several key locations such as Bhoksong, Rajagaon, Baithalangso, Jengkha, Kherani, and Umrangso before terminating in Jowai, reports say, adding that this corridor aims to address critical gaps in the existing transportati...

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the Border Security Force (BSF) Meghalaya, in a well-coordinated joint operation with sister agencies, successfully intercepted and apprehended multiple individuals attempting to cross the international boundary illegally. In a meticulously executed operation, BSF troops intercepted eight Bangladeshi nationals along with an Indian national (the driver) traveling in an Innova vehicle towards Tura via NH-217. They were apprehended near the international boundary while attempting to enter Bangladesh from India. In another swift and decisive operation, BSF Meghalaya troops nabbed six more Bangladeshi nationals along with two Indian nationals near the international boundary. These operations were carried out as part of BSF Meghalaya’s ongoing efforts ...