Manipur: Fresh violence erupts, houses torched; people forced to shut shops

In fresh violence in Manipur, two houses were torched by a mob in Imphal East district after two armed miscreants forced people to shut their shops on Monday afternoon (May 22), police officials said.

However, no casualty was reported due to the arson.

The mob also beat up one of the miscreants while the other managed to flee. The two were taken into custody.

Also read: Manipur strife fuels suspicion, hostility among students in Delhi

Armymen deployed in the area who rushed to the scene used force and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob resulting in minor injuries to a few people.

Locals protested the incident by burning tyres on the road.

Following the incident, curfew hours in Imphal East district which had earlier been relaxed were tightened.

Also read: Manipur: Ethnic divide widens with tribal groups sticking to their stands

Clashes broke out in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

Also read: SC asks Manipur government to outline security, rehabilitation steps

The ethnic clashes claimed over 70 lives and some 10,000 army and para-military personnel had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state.

(With agency inputs)