'Our gagged silence today portrays the silencing of justice, but our protest signify our love for India and justice.'
President's rule was imposed in Manipur on Thursday, with the state assembly put under suspended animation following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The decision came after months of ethnic violence that claimed over 250 lives. Singh's resignation was attributed to his handling of the violence and allegations of instigating conflict. The imposition of President's rule was met with a sense of hope by the Kuki-Zo community, who expressed distrust of the Meitei leadership.
A delegation of a Meitei civil society group from Manipur has conveyed its concerns to the Centre over an incident where the state's name written on a bus windshield was covered with white paper. The group, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), expressed its commitment to peace and its willingness to cooperate in efforts to restore normalcy. They also raised concerns over the growing threats posed by narco-terrorism, cross border illegal immigration, and widespread illegal opium cultivation in the state.
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.
Hours before a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur's ethnic violence, the state's high court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district, while ITLF, an apex tribal body also said it was postponing burial service plans following requests from the Union home minister.
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
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.
Ten Manipur tribal MLAs Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from security duties in the violence-hit state, saying its personnel have been putting their lives at risks to create buffer zones between the two warring communities.
Supreme Court judge, Justice B R Gavai, expressed hope that the "current difficult phase" in ethnic strife-torn Manipur will be over soon with the assistance of the executive, legislature and judiciary and the state will prosper like the rest of the country. Justice Gavai, who led a delegation of Supreme Court judges that visited Manipur, called upon the people of the state to work together to restore peace and harmony. He also urged the people of the state to work together to restore peace and normalcy, and lauded the natural beauty he witnessed while travelling from Imphal to Churachandpur. He expressed delight in noting that training programmes were being imparted at the relief camps, and thanked the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court and the district legal services authority for their efforts. Justice Gavai also stressed the need for readmission of students who had to drop out of school due to the conflict and called upon the educational institutions and the public to ensure all students complete their education.
Security forces columns, which were immediately deployed in these "vacant" villages, responded cautiously to avoid any collateral damage.
The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.
'Look at the post mortem reports. Every body (of the 10 Kuki-Zo youth who were killed) has almost 12 bullet marks on it.' 'Why do they have to fire so much even if they wanted to kill them?' 'One or two shots would be enough to kill them. Why then they had to fire so many bullets on them?'
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.
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.
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.
The injured have been air evacuated to Mantripukhri and search operations are in progress, the Army's SpearCorps headquartered in Dimapur said on Twitter.
'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'
The Congress claimed that not inviting the Manipur CM to the meeting violated Schedule 7 of the Constitution.
Security forces have been diligently working to create buffer zones, such as the one established between Churachandpur and Bishnupur. However, this has proven insufficient to quell the unrest.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 3 with over 150 people losing their lives.
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.
Bose, who was earlier a Lok Sabha MP, pointed out in an interview to PTI that members of all the three communities had joined Netaji's INA in 1944 and fought shoulder to shoulder in the battlefields of Bishnupur and Ukhrul districts in an advance into India.
Appealing with "folded hands" for an end to the three-month-long cycle of violence in Manipur, Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday urged the warring Kuki and Meitei communities to hold talks, even as the Lok Sabha adopted a resolution calling for the restoration of peace in the northeastern state.
"Dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur," Shah said.
A circular issued on Monday night by GAD Secretary Michael Achom said: "In pursuance of the meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on June 12 and decision taken at para 5-(12) of the proceedings, all employees drawing their salaries from General Administration Department, Manipur Secretariat are informed that no work, no pay may be invoked to all those employees who do not attend their official duty without authorised leave."
'They only bring pieces. Dialogue is the only way forward.' 'We should get people who have influence to bring the community leaders to sit across the table and talk.' 'Otherwise, our adversaries across the borders will add fuel to the fire. Let's not give them a chance.'
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.
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.
The proceedings began at 11 am with two-minute silence for those killed in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis that began on May 3.
'There's no transparency in work (of the Wakf Board), in property transactions (of the Waqf).'
The meeting happened amid fresh violence in the state, in which at least five people were killed in Jiribam district on Saturday.
He emphasised the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.
Kumar said the increase was due to Outer Manipur being counted twice, since polls will be held there in two phases.
Rumour-mongering has largely affected the process to calm down the situation and bring peace in troubled Manipur.
Security forces which tried to quell the mob were forced to use force and fired tear gas shells at the mob at New Checkon in Imphal, they added.
Registering a 'zero FIR' based on a complaint by a trader, the Manipur police filed the case in Imphal sub-division.
'And (the prime minister does so) without giving any hint of a recognition of the political violence resulting in the ethnic cleansing (of tribals and Kukis) which he simply equates it with atrocities against women in other parts of India.' 'This is not acceptable.'
Protests erupted in Imphal, Manipur, on Monday, as a group led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) locked government offices in protest of the recent killing of three women and three children in Jiribam. The Manipur government also extended the suspension of internet services for two more days, till Wednesday, in seven districts of the state. The protests come amidst a fresh wave of unrest following the disappearance of six people from a displaced persons camp in Jiribam and the subsequent discovery of multiple bodies.
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.
A man from Manipur, his wife and his sister were allegedly assaulted by a group of people from the same state in southeast Delhi's Sunlight Colony area, police said on Saturday.
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