Tribals in Jharkhand die of food poisoning

Chatra: Four people belonging to the Birhor tribe died of food poisoning and eight others have taken ill after allegedly eating wild roots at Pratapur in Jharkhand's Chatra district, Civil Surgeon Ramesh Prasad said today.
He said a medical team was sent to Pratapur immediately after getting information on Thursday. The tribals fell ill and were shifted to the local health centre.
Four tribals died yesterday, Prasad said, adding that the rest were safe and recovering at the health centre.
However, unconfirmed reports said more people died and the area was in the grip of diarrhoea, which the civil surgeon denied.

Source: www.mid-day.com

Manipur girls rescued from Kuala Lampur night club

New Delhi:
Five girls from Manipur, all victims of human trafficking and who were forced to work in a night club in Malaysia's Kuala Lampur, have been rescued by Indian Embassy officials there.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is currently making arrangements to bring the girls home after their parents were unable to deposit the required funds for purchasing air tickets with a neighbouring passport office.
All five girls of Naga origin managed to flee from the night club where they were forced to work and took shelter at a destitute home in Kuala Lampur run by Pastor Jeyabal David.
"The Indian Embassy was approached by the Pastor stating the condition of the girls and the Ministry intervened as the Protector General of Emigrants office had received similar complaints from some NGOs," said a Ministry official.
The five girls were identified to be from the Zeliangrong tribe residing in neighbouring districts of Imphal city.
An NGO Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) had reported to the Ministry and the National Commission for Women seeking their intervention about rescuing other girls trafficked out of North-East states.
Earlier police in Manipur had intercepted a human trafficking party while crossing the Indo-Burma border at Moreh. So far two travel agents have been arrested and 12 people are being questioned in this connection.
"NPMHR had sought government intervention for arresting one Ricky Ho of a fake Malaysian NGO operating as Abel & Co Private Limited. Ho had reportedly allured the girls offering jobs as house maids and nurses," said the Protector General of Emigrants.
Source: www.mid-day.com