Just a day after an agreement was signed between Hmar and Meitei representatives to restore peace in ethnic violence-hit Jiribam district of Manipur, the apex body of the Hmar community said that the pact stood 'null and void'.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reviewed the security situation in Manipur for the second consecutive day, directing officials to focus on restoring peace and order in the state. The situation has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children. Shah also ordered the deployment of 5,000 paramilitary troops to assist the state government in handling the situation.
A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation on Tuesday called on Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal amid a leadership crisis following the resignation of N Biren Singh as the chief minister of the ethnic violence-hit state two days ago.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has called for dialogue to resolve all misunderstandings in the state and stressed the importance of all recognised tribes living together. He made the appeal at the 53rd Statehood Day celebrations, urging everyone to focus on building a prosperous Manipur. Singh also highlighted the state government's efforts in combating drug abuse, noting that over Rs 70,000 to 80,000 crore worth of illegal drugs have been destroyed in the past few years.
It's obvious to all that the Congress is overestimating its success and the BJP is underestimating the people's message delivered through the ballot box, notes Sheela Bhatt.
'One of our MLA's homes has already been attacked by the mob. This legislator was beaten. This MLA belongs to the Meitei community.' 'There is a complete collapse of law and order in Manipur.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his election rallies in Maharashtra and is returning to Delhi due to the volatile situation in Manipur. The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, where irate mobs have set fire to the residences of several BJP and Congress legislators. The incidents follow a series of killings and abductions by militants in the state.
'The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India'
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made some strong observations against the state while hearing a plea filed by Lunkhongam Haokip that he was suffering from piles and tuberculosis and was not taken to hospital by jail officials despite having severe backache.
The man, identified as Soibam Saratkumar Singh, went missing after he had gone to his farm in the morning. Later, his body was found, with wounds made by a sharp object, a police officer said.
The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
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.
'No matter how much you get paid or how successful you get, nothing can match the fauj.'
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday, following months of ethnic violence in the state. BJP leaders have begun closed-door meetings to decide the next course of action. The opposition welcomed Singh's resignation, while the BJP hopes the move will help restore peace in the region.
'We are not anti-national like these armed secessionists. We have no intention of breaking away from the Indian Union.'
The autopsy reports of three of the six persons killed in Manipur's Jiribam district by suspected Kuki militants revealed multiple bullet injuries and lacerations on various parts of their bodies, officials said on Sunday.
The Commission of Inquiry was supposed to submit its report to the central government "as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting".
The National People's Party (NPP) has withdrawn support from the BJP-led government in Manipur, citing the government's failure to resolve the ongoing crisis and restore normalcy in the state. The NPP, which has 7 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, made the decision after recent incidents of violence and protests in the state. The BJP continues to hold a majority in the Assembly, with 32 legislators, and the withdrawal of support is not expected to affect the government's stability.
A commando contingent of the Manipur police has been airlifted to Jiribam on Saturday morning from Imphal to assist in the security operations against the militants, police said.
The Indian government has sent an additional 50 CAPF companies, comprising over 5,000 personnel, to Manipur to address the challenging security and law and order situation in the northeastern state. This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) deployed 20 additional CAPF companies to the state following violence in Jiribam district. The deployment brings the total number of CAPF companies in Manipur to 218. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also meet to review the security situation in Manipur and strategize to handle the volatile situation in the state.
East Bengal scored four second half goals to recorded a sensational come-from-behind victory, beating Punjab FC 4-2 in their Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday.
'I have been asking whether the chief minister (N Biren Singh) is in charge of the situation in Manipur.' 'Law and order is a state subject and chief minister is a Constitutional authority. Why did he follow the diktat, if at all there is a diktat from the Union government?'
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has asked the army to take steps to trace a 56-year-old man who has been missing since November 25 from Kangpokpi district. Laishram Kamalbabu Singh went missing from the 57th Mountain Division campus of the army, and an FIR has been lodged with the Sekmai Police Station over his disappearance. The chief minister asked the authorities at the Leimakhong army camp to take responsibility for finding out the man. Singh also alleged a lack of transparency and sincerity among a section of security personnel in Manipur.
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have called his MLAs and ministers and said 'this should not happen in India. Manipur is not a part of any banana republic, I will not allow this to happen, talk it out, what is the problem'
Drones are a new technology added recently to the weapons used in the violence between the two large ethnic groups -- Meitei and Kuki -- in the northeastern state, which left over 200 people dead since May last year.
'My one recommendation would be to first quell the violence and then encourage dialogue and build the trust among the different communities.' 'This is not easy but necessary, for violence cannot be the way forward.'
'Knowing that a no-confidence motion would succeed, the BJP central leadership forced N Biren Singh to resign.' 'If he had lost on the floor of the House, it would have been a major setback for the BJP.'
'There is a list with the Ministry of Home Affairs that has the details and names of the terrorist organisations that attack the Indian Army.'
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.
ESU coach Ngampao Kipgen, a member of the Kuki tribe, told Reuters he was forced to flee to the hills with his family after his house was burned down.
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 autopsy report of the 31-year-old tribal woman, who was killed in Manipur's violence-hit Jiribam district on November 7, revealed that she was subjected to third-degree torture and suffered 99 per cent burns.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday apologised for the ethnic conflict in the state which claimed over 250 lives and rendered thousands homeless, and appealed to all communities to forget and forgive past mistakes and live together in a peaceful and prosperous state.
Singh said concerned with increasing deforestation and setting up of new villages by illegal immigrants, a Cabinet sub-committee was formed in February 2023 after a cabinet meeting attended by two Kuki ministers Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen.
The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.
The FMR allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.
'Unfortunately, there is no movement towards peace in Manipur.'
The shutdown was called by Kuki-Zo groups, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), in protest against Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh's statement about militants entering the state from outside.
