Militants shoot 'exam cheats'

Separatist rebels in a northeastern Indian state shot and injured at least 10 people who they suspected of helping university students cheat on final exams, police said today.

The guerrillas, who claim the education system in Manipur state is corrupt, might have carried out the shootings in the past four days in an attempt to win support for their campaign to clean up local government, said AK Parashar, the state deputy police chief.

Parashar blamed the outlawed Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, or KYKL, which is fighting for an independent homeland for the Meiteis, the largest ethnic community in Manipur, on the border with Burma. The Meiteis are predominantly Hindu.

None of Manipur’s 17 active separatist groups have claimed responsibility for the shootings.

The victims, including two exam supervisors, were taken to hospital with bullet wounds. Some were allegedly caught by militants as they tried to pass exam answers to students from outside exam halls.

Some 33,000 students are taking part in the undergraduate exams.

Last year, the KYKL said Western and Indian influences were threatening traditional ways and ordered women in Manipur to wear traditional sarongs in public, instead of trousers or saris. Many women observed the dress code at first, but stopped doing so because they thought it was too rigid.