A mob led by Kuki-Zo women clashed with security forces in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Tuesday, triggering fresh tensions in the ethnic strife-hit state.
Close to 2,000 passengers are stranded at the premises of the airport, the terminal building of which can handle only 750 passengers -- 250 for arrival and 500 for departure -- at a time.
Ahead of the visit, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur.
In violence-hit Manipur, the general buzz associated with elections and the related paraphernalia of posters, banners and rallies are missing but it is the presence of these brown boxes with pictures of guns that is symbolic of the strife-ridden society struggling to return to normalcy.
The Arambai Tenggol has been a focal point of controversy, with Kuki representatives blaming the organisation for exacerbating violence.
In view of the blast, security personnel, particularly in valley districts have been asked to step up security measures and patrolling to detect movement of armed militants
A group of people tried to gherao the residence of Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh in Imphal East district claiming that the government in the strife-torn state is not doing enough to protect locals from militants belonging to another community, officials said on Friday.
People are protesting against the killing of 30-year-old Th Manorama Devi, allegedly by Assam Rifles personnel.
Seven suspected militants were killed in an encounter with Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur's Imphal East district, the police said on Sunday. The incident happened on Saturday at Andro, about 25 km from Imphal, in the district.
Police said in Imphal on Wednesday that three militants were shot dead on Monday and another six militants were gunned down Tuesday. Three suspected militants were shot dead at Langol, Imphal, on Tuesday by a team of Manipur police commandos and 32 Assam Rifles.
The security agencies have been warning that militants belonging to United National Liberation Front, People's Liberation Army and other banned groups had become part of the mobs and carrying out sneak attacks on security forces as well as giving directions to the agitators.
In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said.
With the security forces intensifying anti-insurgency operations in Manipur in the wake of Tuesday evening's blast that killed 17 persons in Imphal, eight militants were shot dead in different parts of the state on Thursday.
The bomb (improvised explosive device), planted near the roadside at Yaiskul bus stand here to attack the security personnel, went off at 6.20 am killing one person on the spot and injuring eight others, they said.
Heinrich Wolfgang was in Manipur to inspect the functioning of some NGOs.
A flash flood triggered by incessant rains for the past several days has affected thousands of people, inundated several villages and washed away 40 houses in Jiribam subdivision in Manipur's Imphal East district.
Insurgents threw bombs and opened fire from different sides at the team.
The Imphal Valley in Manipur, which remained peaceful for most of Friday, witnessed sporadic clashes later in the day as more security forces were rushed in from other states by road and air to calm down a state which had witnessed bloody ethnic rioting over the last 48 hours.
Neighbouring states in the region have taken steps against possible out break of bird flu in the wake of developments in Manipur.
Over seven months of violence severely hit businesses, schools, colleges and other institutions, besides disrupting transportation and communication networks. It also affected the agrarian sector, considered the mainstay of the state economy.
The mob also tried to snatch weapons from the police, forcing them to fire at the crowd. No casualty was reported so far, the sources said.
Tamenglong and Chandel districts recorded 85 per cent polling.
A mob tried to attack Chief Minister N Biren Singh's empty ancestral house on Thursday night, despite a security clampdown and curfew in the Imphal valley.
Seven non-Manipuris were on Tuesday shot dead by unidentified militants in Imphal East district, taking the toll in attacks against outsiders since last Monday to 14. The victims were believed to be from Bihar and were in the business of tobacco products. While three were gunned down at Takhel area, one each were murdered at Kangla and Sangomshang areas of the district, official sources said.
Two abandoned houses were set on fire by unidentified people in Manipur's Imphal West district in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said.
State security advisor Kuldiep Singh said that lawful action will be taken against those displaying firearms at the parade.
The Kukis have already declared that they are not fielding any candidate in the parliamentary polls as an act of boycott.
The explosive device was planted on the roadside and was triggered off when a passenger bus passed the area at around 5.45 pm, police said quoting initial reports.
While Singh comes from the Meiti community, he has continued to appeal to both sides to stay away from violence and restore peace in the state.
A group of heavily armed militants shot dead the leader of a Manipuri women's group on Sunday night, in front other members of her family, at her residence in Nongren Mayai Leikai in Imphal East district.KCP-MC has claimed responsibility for the dastardly act, saying the senior leader of 'Meira Paibis' (woman activists) had not heeded their warnings, against keeping in touch with security forces, which are operating against rebel groups in the state.
A jawan of 6th India Reserve Battalion, who deserted the force's camp with a service gun, was shot dead after he was confronted by police commandos in Imphal East district of Manipur on Saturday, police sources said.
Security forces fired several rounds in the air to disperse the mob, officials said.
The death toll from clashes a day before rose to five on Monday as three more people, who were undergoing treatment in hospitals, succumbed to their injuries, they said.
The situation in minority-dominated Lilong Chingjao area in Manipur's Thoubal district, where four villagers were gunned down by unidentified assailants, remained calm but tense on Tuesday as additional security forces were deployed, an official said.
According to a health department source in Imphal, so far close to 10,500 people were scanned by medical teams from over 1,700 households.
The Manipur government has accused Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma of stoking hatred and division through "unwarranted comments" and called on him to display "better statesmanship" by being a "good neighbour". In a statement, the Manipur government alleged that Lalduhoma's comments were part of a "greater agenda" to carve out a Kuki-Chin Christian nation from contiguous areas of Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh. It also warned against any attempt to "push" illegal Kuki-Chin immigrants from Mizoram into Manipur for land grabbing and the creation of a "Greater Mizoram." The Mizoram government could not be reached immediately for comment.
Terming such 'unwarranted interference' detrimental to the timely response by security forces, the Army's Spears Corps shared a video on Twitter late on Monday of some such incidents.
An Olympic medallist's wish is anybody's command. Domino's Pizza has pledged free pizza for life to India's silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, after the champion said she wished to eat pizza after her feat at the Tokyo Olympics.
The development came two days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a decision has been taken to provide security to the farmers who will start the cropping season.
Parents of both the murdered youths, viral pictures of whose bodies caused widespread protests in Imphal valley for two days, on Thursday pleaded with authorities to locate the remains of their children so that the last rights of the boy and the girl can be conducted 'with the dignity they deserve'.
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