Settlers shot dead in NE India

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC correspondent in Calcutta

Tripura rebels have called for a ban on Durga Puja celebrations

Four Bengali settlers have been killed by suspected separatist rebels in the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura.

Police say six other Bengalis were injured in the attacks.

In the neighbouring state of Manipur, regional groups are observing a strike in protest at the alleged killing of a man by police.

Rajkumar Sanajaoba Singh, nephew of a former Manipur chief minister, was allegedly shot dead by two policemen in the state capital Imphal on Wednesday.

Threats ignored

Police in Tripura say rebels of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked two Bengali villages during celebrations of the Hindu festival of Durga Puja.

At Dabbari village, they killed a shopkeeper and his two-year-old son while a farmer and his 10-year-old son were killed in nearby Padmakumar village.

The NLFT wants to throw Bengali settlers out of Tripura and has also called for a ban on celebration of Durga Puja among indigenous tribes.

But this year, despite the rebel threat, thousands of tribes people have joined Bengalis to observe Durga Puja.

The neighbouring state of Manipur is said to have shut down in response to a strike called by local youth groups in protest at the killing of Rajkumar Sanajaoba Singh.

Eye witnesses say the victim was riding a scooter and got in the way of a police convoy.

Two angry policemen are alleged to have got out of their vehicle and shot him.

The protesters have said they will extend the strike if Chief Minister Ibobi Singh does not punish the policemen alleged to have carried out the killing.

In July, Manipur was rocked by violent protests over the rape and killing of a Manipur woman, allegedly by soldiers of the Assam Rifles.