The Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief also said India is giving shelter to anyone from Myanmar seeking refuge, including common villagers, army or police, in Mizoram and Manipur, but not armed cadres of militant groups of drug traffickers.
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.
'After having changed chief ministers in Uttarakhand, Tripura, why are they not doing it in Manipur?'
'Had it not been for the complicity of the state and Biren Singh's leadership, these riots would not have spread this far and for so long.'
In a fresh incident of arms looting, a mob comprising the majority community broke into a police armoury and stole weapons, including AK and 'Ghatak' series of assault rifles, and over 19,000 bullets of various calibres, officials said.
In an address at an election rally in this southern-most part of Mizoram bordering Myanmar, Singh said violence is no solution to any problem and the two communities in Manipur must talk to each other to improve the situation in the troubled state.
'Hatred increases with every killing.' 'It sets one family against another.' 'The sooner it is stopped, the better.'
'In a complex situation a PM coming was not necessary'
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.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh is facing renewed scrutiny over his handling of the ethnic violence that erupted in the state in May 2023. Leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring Singh, in which he is purportedly heard discussing how the violence was instigated with his approval, have sparked fresh controversy. The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) has demanded a court-monitored investigation into the authenticity of the tapes, leading to a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to verify the tapes' authenticity and submit a report. Singh's tenure has been marked by controversies, including allegations of instigating conflict and questions regarding his governance. Despite a public apology in December 2023 for the violence, the leaked audio tapes have further intensified criticism of his leadership.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, accompanied by four of his cabinet ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sarada Devi, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, state minister and government spokesperson Sapam Ranjan Singh told PTI.
'Meiteis started feeling insecure stating that the illegal immigrant population is growing in the valley, and that the majority community would become a minority.'
This is the fourth incident since the commencement of the conflict in Manipur wherein soldiers while on leave, on duty or their relatives have been targeted for nefarious interests by inimical elements.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah should tell from where do Kuki militants get rifles and ammunition, it said.
The militants fired indiscriminately from hilltop positions towards the low-lying valley areas of Koutruk and neighbouring Kadangband killing the woman and injuring four others, including her eight-year-old daughter and a police officer.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
The only visible hint of the impending election is the hoardings put up by local election authorities, urging citizens to exercise their franchise.
'Can they (the Union government) provide security to every tribal in the valley? This is impossible now.'
More than a month before the horrific video of two women being assaulted publicly in Manipur went viral, activists had informed the National Commission for Women about not only this case but other brutal instances of rape as well, besides incidents of kidnapping, lynching, immolation and even murder in the strife-torn state.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Monday said that a police case has been filed on the basis of a complaint against the president and three members of the Editors Guild of India (EGI) for a report critiquing media coverage out of Manipur, and accused them of trying to "provoke clashes" in the state.
The ongoing crisis in Manipur has affected several others in the country in one way or the other. Over the years Manipur has produced brilliant sports person in the country.
The contentious paragraph from last year's verdict, instructing the state to expedite consideration of Meitei community inclusion, was deemed for deletion.
The Centre is working on a three-pronged approach to bring the warring Meitei and Kuki communities into a narrow common ground for lasting peace in trouble-torn Manipur, sources said on Wednesday.
The video, which drew widespread condemnation, shows the men constantly molesting the two helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors to spare them the horror.
The NIA and CBI officials working in Imphal in an ethnically charged environment have been facing the daunting task of completing investigations in various cases, including those related to attacks on Army personnel in 2015, the probe agencies said.
In a statement, the UNAU Tribal Women's Forum, Delhi-NCR, said the mothers of the Kuki-Hmar-Zomi community of Manipur, represented by the group, are "deeply hurt and appalled" by the remarks made by the solicitor general in the Supreme Court on August 1.
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.
Asking Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, to file an updated status report, the bench said, "It should have details like rehabilitation camps, law and order and recovery of arms."
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Saturday hinted that external forces or elements may have had a hand in the ethnic violence, which has claimed several lives in the state, adding that it seems 'pre-planned'.
A bench headed Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to list the matter for hearing on July 28 after senior advocate Anand Grover mentioned it for early hearing.
'The central government forces are supporting one group and the state government forces are supporting another group and this is resulting in non-stop cross-firing, which has resulted in the killing of many innocent people.'
Security forces fired several rounds in the air to disperse the mob, officials said.
'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of not addressing the problem of Manipur even during the debate on the violence in the northeastern state in Parliament a few days ago.
The incident took place as several dozens of armed men opened indiscriminate fire on Koutruk village in the periphery of Imphal Valley from the adjoining hills in Kangpokpi district, a police officer 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.
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.
India has strongly rejected comments by United Nations experts on Manipur, terming them 'unwarranted, presumptive and misleading' and asserting that situation in the Northeast state is peaceful.
The Indian Army has launched a massive search operation for a man who went missing from the fringe areas of the Imphal Valley two days ago. Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, a works supervisor for a contractor working with the Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station, disappeared after leaving home on Monday afternoon to report for work. The Army is using all its resources, including tracker dogs, drones, and aerial platforms, to locate Singh. The incident has led to tensions in the area, with hundreds of people from the Meitei community demanding information about Singh's whereabouts.
'As soon as the violence broke out, they should have stepped in and sent a message that the state is there to stop this violence.' 'Had they done it right there, the situation would not have gone out of control.'
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