Imphal, November 16: Taking serious exception to reported incidents of assaults, looting and molestation of people from the north eastern region in railway trains in Bihar, the North East People's Forum (NEPF) has appealed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to take appropriate measures to ensure that normalcy was restored as soon as possible.

NEPF convenor and Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said these reports were creating tension in many parts of the Northeast and might lead to take bigger proportions.

Condemning the incidents of specific targeting, Rio appealed to the Centre to take immediate action so that the situation did not get out of hand and those responsible for the untoward incidents were dealt with as per law.

"Such action will assure the people of the region that they are not alienated from the rest of the country and it will also create a feeling of security for travelers moving to different pans of the country", the release said.

The NEPF also appealed to the Bihar government to take immediate action and reassure the people of the region that they are secured to move to any part of the country without any security threat.

The NEPF further called upon the people of the Northeast to maintain restraint and act with maturity towards the developments and said it would take the matter to the highest authority in order to avoid recurrence of such incidents.

Meanwhile, in view of the developments, various NGOs held a joint meeting; with the Dimapur district administration and police.

The meeting, attended by delegates from Naga Council, Dimapur, GBs' Union, Naga Women Hoho along with ADC and SP, Dimapur, resolved that the assurance given by the Chief Minister of Bihar to Rio be followed impartially.

As the details of the incidents are yet unconfirmed, they further appealed to the public to avoid reaction and maintain peace and tranquility.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani on Sunday said he will talk to both Assam and Bihar governments in a bid to reduce tensions over the alleged denial to Bihari students from appearing in Railway recruitment tests in the north-eastern state.

"I had gone to Arunachal Pradesh yesterday.

I will now talk to both Assam and Bihar to ensure that the tensions created between them are removed," Advani said here during an interaction with women students from Bihar.

He was responding to a question from a student of Patna Women's College who enquired about the steps being taken to ensure security of female students from Bihar who may visit Assam in future.

Students from Bihar agitated over being denied appearance in the examination had last week assaulted around thirty passengers after stopping two trains at the Jamalpur railway station.

The agitated students, armed with lathis, stopped the 4024 down Mahananda Express and 4055 Brahmaputra Mail at the station and beat up Assamese passengers.

Railway Recruitment Board is on Sunday holding the second round of examination for Group-D posts for students who could not appear in the test in Assam on November 9.

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