At least three BSF personnel sustained bullet injuries after gunmen fired at security forces in Manipur's Thoubal district, police said on Thursday.
At least 25 miscreants with arms, ammunition and grenades have been rounded up by Indian Army and paramilitary forces across ethnic-strife riven Manipur, officials said on Monday.
A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, led by the agency's Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, will reach Imphal in a special flight on Wednesday to investigate the 'kidnapping and killing' of two students who went missing in the northeastern state on July 6, sources said.
'We are in a dilemma if the central government supports this ethnic violence and Biren Singh.'
In the wake of arrest of five persons for extortion in Manipur including a suspected member of a banned terror group, the Manipur police has again warned of stern action against all those who were misusing the uniform for their ulterior motives.
The only visible hint of the impending election is the hoardings put up by local election authorities, urging citizens to exercise their franchise.
They had earlier been arrested by the Manipur police in September last year when they were allegedly extorting money by wearing police uniforms and carrying sophisticated weapons, the officials said.
The curfew imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be relaxed from 7 am to 10 am, it said.
Police said, "Initially, two bombs exploded, followed by 350 to 400 rounds of fire."
Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been "prematurely" repatriated to Manipur cadre where a fresh bout of violence has worsened the already tense situation.
A day after AFSPA was extended in most parts of Manipur, rights activist Irom Sharmila said the "oppressive law" was not a solution to the conflict in the state.
The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
Though attendance in most institutes was extremely low on the first day, students, parents and guardians welcomed the state government's decision to restart classes.
Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence, according to leaders from the community.
On Thursday, he had visited relief camps in Churachandpur, one of the worst affected towns in the ethnic rioting, which has plagued the northeastern state for the last two months.
In most parts of the landlocked northeastern state, items such as rice, potato, onion and egg besides LPG cylinders and petrol are selling at rates much above the ones fixed by the government.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday said his government will provide a one-time assistance of Rs 1000 to those living in relief camps because of ethnic rioting in the state.
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Sunday said she will be going to strife-torn Manipur despite the state government allegedly denying her permission for the visit.
He also held another meeting with a delegation of civil society organisations as part of his outreach and they expressed their commitment to peace and assured that they would work for restoring normalcy in Manipur.
'If the government can conduct elections during such a time, I am sure they can find ways to bring peace and address the concerns of people. Everything that we had built over the years got burnt and now we are supposed to start our lives from scratch and we should also vote?'
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) on the Manipur violence seeking among other things a special investigation team (SIT) probe into alleged poppy cultivation and narco-terrorism.
The gunfight broke out in Phoubakchao Ikhai area, around 50 km from state capital Imphal, on Thursday morning and continued for around 15 hours till late at night, when the insurgents fled the area.
Government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan said that the government is making efforts towards this end.
The incident occurred at Kwakeithel Mayai Koibi under Lamphel police station a day after classes 1 to 8 began in the state after two months because of the violence.
Frustration continues to mount over the prolonged mobile internet suspension with a Senapati district-based Naga students body imposing highway blockade over the issue since October 5.
'It is difficult to replace him because if he is replaced, it will lead to a sense of defeat among the Meiteis, rightly or wrongly, and more chaos.'
The FMR allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.
Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make?
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's convoy was on Thursday stopped by the Manipur police at Bishnupur, about 20 kilometres from Imphal, officials said.
What shocked Kan was the news that a prominent personality in his neighbourhood led the ransacking of his house and its torching later.
From firewood to barbells, no burden is too heavy for India's Mirabai
The four, including the wife of the main accused, were taken 'outside the state' by a special flight, Singh said.
The incident took place in Khoijumantabi village late on Saturday night when the 'village volunteers' were guarding the area in a makeshift bunker, a police officer said.
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.
The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), an extremist group operating in Manipur, on Wednesday signed a peace agreement with the government and agreed to renounce violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced New Delhi.
In a separate incident, a tribal woman had lodged a complaint at Saikul police station, stating that her 21-year-old daughter and her 24-year-old friend were allegedly raped by a mob at their rented house near Konung Mamang before brutally murdering them on May 4.
An Indian Army soldier was injured after armed miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing from Kanto Sabal towards Chingmang village on the intervening night of June 18-19.
Chowdhury said that the visiting MPs will present their observations on Manipur in Parliament.
The officials said that in the present environment where two communities are attacking each other, they may not find even a lawyer to defend them as all courts were within Imphal valley.
"I fear I won't perform well in the class 10 board examination next year, which might affect my dreams of enrolling in a good school in Imphal," Karam said.
