Even as the Ibobi Singh government is readying itself to welcome Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his maiden visit to Manipur, the Revolutionary People's Front has called for a boycott of the visit and imposed a 24-hour curfew beginning on Friday midnight.

• 'Insurgency is the biggest business in the northeast'

The armed underground organisation, fighting for a separate independent state, has termed the PM a symbol of brute force. The front said the he is visiting Manipur to spread false propaganda.

The organisation, in a press statement in Imphal, said there was nothing to rejoice over the visit when the sovereignty of Manipur has been taken away.

In the 55 years of rule by the Indian government Manipur has witnessed atrocities and terrorist acts by security forces. The number of deaths and incidents of women's modesty being outraged have increased. Even democratic protests against such acts and "black laws" have been put down with brute force, as in the case of Thangjam Manorama, it said.

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It also criticised the government's call for negotiation terming it as insincere. While in Jammu and Kashmir troops are being reduced, Dr Manmohan Singh is sending more and more troops to Manipur, the organisation said.

The underground organisation has asked the public to stay indoors during the PM's visit.

Meanwhile, the state government is pulling out all the stops to welcome the prime minister. Capital Imphal has been spruced up and fresh surfaces are being laid on roads through which the PM is expected to travel. Security is also being beefed up.

The Prime Minister will attend the convocation at Manipur University and later formally handover the controversial Kangla Fort to the state. The fort has been under the occupation of Assam Rifles since pre-independence days.

Singh will also lay the foundation stone for the new Capitol project coming up at Chingmeirong, a kilometre north of Imphal.

In another development, the United National Liberation Front, one of the more influential separatist group, has accused the Indian troops of harassing villagers after it lost battle with the front's armed wing, Manipur People's Army, at Umtal near Mawlnom village under Singhat sub-division.

In a release, it accused the Indian troops of killing a 75-year-old retired teacher, L D Rengtuiwan, and deliberately shooting his wife on the thigh in the pretext of searching for UNLF cadres on the night of November 17. It also alleged that the troops had beaten up several women and children.

The army has announced a court of inquiry into the incident, while the state government has instituted a judicial inquiry.
The UNLF also said at least 20 army men were killed and another 35 injured since the security forces launched an offensive against insurgents last month.

The UNLF had earlier claimed its MPA had killed 12 army jawans and injured another 16 in two separate incidents in Churachandpur district.

However, the Press Information Bureau's defence wing refuted the claim. It said the security forces had in fact killed 24 militants and apprehended 53. They also recovered weapons and large quantities of explosives.