'Exam-cheat' Indian teachers shot

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta

KYKL rebels with a government employee in a separate abduction

Separatists in India's north-eastern state of Manipur have shot six male teachers in the leg for allegedly helping students cheat in exams.

Two women teachers were beaten with sticks for the same offence, the rebels of the Kanglei Yana Kan Lup group said.

The teachers were abducted from their homes after an exam on Thursday.

The rebels said the teachers took up to 5,000 rupees ($110) for helping students cheat and warned of further punishment if the cheating continued.

'Sense of morality'

The Kanglei Yana Kan Lup (KYKL) is one of many separatist groups fighting Indian administration in Manipur.

It said it abducted the eight teachers from their homes in and around the state capital, Imphal, because of reports they had taken bribes.

On Friday, the six men were taken to the Regional Medical College in Imphal suffering gunshot wounds and the two women were admitted after being severely beaten.

A KYKL spokesman said the punishment was part of its New Kangleipak (the ancient name of Manipur) programme, to instil a sense of morality in society.

Manipur's separatist rebels have often taken such action, particularly against drug dealers and producers of pornographic films. Government employees have also been targeted.

Rebels have frequently burned stocks of seized heroin or amphetamines.