The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
Mild tremors were felt in Kolkata and Imphal on Friday after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Thai capital Bangkok. The epicenter was in central Myanmar, about 50 km east of the city of Monywa. Mild tremors were reported from Kolkata and its adjoining areas. According to official sources, there have been no reports of damage to property or loss of life in the city due to the tremor. In Manipur, tremors caused panic among residents of Thangal Bazar in Imphal, where many old multi-storey buildings, are located. However, no damage has been reported so far, police said.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
Forty-two more firearms and cartridges have been surrendered by the public in five districts of ethnic strife-torn Manipur, police said. The surrender comes after Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla urged warring groups to voluntarily surrender weapons robbed from security forces and other illegally held firearms within seven days. The deadline was later extended till March 6. The surrender of firearms follows months of ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups that has resulted in the deaths of over 250 people and left thousands homeless.
Over 25 people were injured in clashes as Indian Army and Rapid Action Force personnel fired tear gas shells in Kangvai and Phougakchao areas in Bishnupur district on Thursday to stop processions from proceeding to the proposed burial site violating restrictions on gatherings.
At least 10 militants were killed in a gunfight with an Assam Rifles unit in Manipur's Chandel district on Wednesday, officials said. The operation is still in progress, they said.
Life in the north-eastern state of Manipur continued to limp back to normal as curfew was relaxed in 11 districts, including Imphal West, Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Jiribam, for six hours from 5 am, as no fresh incident of violence was reported, officials said on Wednesday.
Biren Singh relinquished the post on February 9 last year amid rumblings within the state BJP seeking a change of leadership in strife-torn Manipur.
A class XI student was killed after school students demanding implementation of Inner Line Permit system in Manipur clashed with police.
The militants armed with sophisticated weapons surrounded the villagers of the Khamelok area bordering Imphal East district and Kangpoki district and launched the attack at around 1 am, the police said.
The injured persons were rushed to a private hospital, the officer said, adding that the blast site has been cordoned off.
At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot to contain the situation.
The number of seized weapons included 36 arms including three numbers of Ak 47/56, four carbine machine guns, seven SLRs and 1,615 number of ammunition and explosives including 82 numbers of hand grenades, police said.
Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel also sustained injuries during the heavy exchange of fire that happened at Jakurador Karong in the Borobekra sub-division, they said.
The yatra, which is scheduled to begin on January 14, will cover 6,713 kilometres and the participants will travel on buses and foot.
Eight firearms and 112 rounds of ammunition were recovered from different districts of violence-hit Manipur during search operations by security forces, police said.
Two bodies, including that of a woman, with bullet wounds were recovered in Imphal East and West districts in Manipur, police said on Thursday.
The security forces recently seized some internet devices along with arms and ammunition during a raid in Keirao Khunou in Imphal East district.
Unidentified armed men abducted Sepoy Kom, who was on leave, from his home around 10am on Saturday.
An attempt was also made to torch another property of the consumer and food affairs minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on Friday night but timely intervention prevented it.
A prominent 72-year-old social activist on fast since July 6 demanding implementation of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur was force fed at a state-run hospital after his condition deteriorated.
The curfew was imposed this noon and covers Porompat and Sawombung subdivisions of Imphal East district, said an order issued by the district magistrate. It will continue till further directions.
A shutdown has been observed since 5 am on Tuesday in Kuki-Zo majority areas in the hills to protest against the killing of suspected insurgents, the officials said.
Curfew was relaxed in three Imphal Valley districts on Tuesday and the suspension on broadband internet lifted with conditions, even as Chief Minister N Biren Singh blamed the Congress for the present crisis in Manipur and NDA MLAs called for a "mass operation" against militants responsible for the killing of six women and children. Peaceful rallies were also staged across the state, with hundreds taking to the streets with empty coffins in Churachandpur district, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam, and members of various civil society organisations bringing out a procession in Imphal West district to protest the reimposition of AFSPA in parts of the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for various development projects worth thousands of crores in Manipur, marking his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state. The visit includes interaction with internally displaced persons and the launch of infrastructure projects across multiple sectors.
Gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived in camouflage dresses in the Lilong Chingjao area, and opened fire targeting locals, they said.
One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.
The Imphal Valley in Manipur remained peaceful but tense on Friday, however intermittent gunfights between militant groups and security forces were reported from the hill districts surrounding the valley.
Clashes erupted between agitators and police in Greater Imphal area on Sunday as supporters of introduction of Inner Line Permit in Manipur continued their defiance of the curfew, which stepped into the fifth day, and took to the streets in large numbers.
Defying the indefinite curfew clamped in Greater Imphal area agitators on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manipur on September 13, interacting with internally displaced people and unveiling development projects worth Rs 8,500 crore. This marks his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state two years ago.
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, police officials said.
A fresh cycle of violence erupted in Manipur last Monday after 11 suspected militants, who allegedly attacked a police station and adjoining CRPF camp with sophisticated weapons in Manipur's Jiribam district, were killed in an exchange of fire.
Manipur experienced a year of intense turmoil in 2024, marked by escalating violence, displacement, and deepening divisions between the Meitei community in the valley and the Kuki tribes in the hills. The conflict, rooted in historical grievances and fueled by political tensions, resulted in numerous casualties, mob attacks, and drone strikes on civilian areas. The situation has led to widespread displacement, fear, and a sense of insecurity among the affected communities, with no signs of peace in sight.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, was completely withdrawn in Meghalaya in 2018, Tripura in 2015 and Mizoram in the 1980s.
They staged sit-in demonstrations in various localities blocking roads, demanding the removal of Assam Rifles from violence-hit areas and accusing the paramilitary force of "brutality during recent agitations".
Officials added that one INSAS light machine gun was recovered by the forces during initial search.
Hours before the clashes, a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur's ethnic violence was stalled after the state's High Court on Thursday morning ordered status quo to be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district.
The house of the BJP Minority Morcha's Manipur president, Asker Ali, was set on fire by a mob allegedly for supporting the Waqf Amendment Act. The incident happened at Lilong in Thoubal district on Sunday night. Ali had expressed his support for the Act on social media on Saturday. An irate mob gathered outside his residence around 9 pm, vandalised it and later set it on fire. Following the incident, Ali posted a video on social media, apologising for his earlier statement. He also expressed opposition to the Act.
Violent protests over the death of two youths in Manipur continued till the early hours of Thursday with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner's office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers, officials said.
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