'The situation is so bad that it is not possible for me to explain in words how bad the conditions are for the common man of Manipur.'
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.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
Manipur Police has registered a first information report (FIR) accusing the Assam Rifles of blocking their vehicle after an altercation between the two groups last week, while the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace Assam Rifles 'by any other paramilitary force permanently' from the state.
However, a central BJP leader downplayed the development and ruled out any changes in the state government, noting that tussle between different interest groups has been a feature of Manipur politics.
The appointment of Col (retired) Nectar Sanjenbam for five years followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah statement last month that Kuki people started entering Manipur from Myanmar illegally following a military crackdown on militants.
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 contentious paragraph from last year's verdict, instructing the state to expedite consideration of Meitei community inclusion, was deemed for deletion.
Security forces fired several rounds in the air to disperse the mob, officials said.
The video of the burning man was shot on May 4, the same day when two women were paraded naked by a mob, the footage of which sparked nationwide outrage after it surfaced in July. The ethnic strife in Manipur began on May 3.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
'Everyone's voice must be heard. We will be talking to both Kukis and Meiteis'
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.
The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
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.
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 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.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's convoy was on Thursday stopped by the Manipur police at Bishnupur, about 20 kilometres from Imphal, officials said.
At a time when Manipur is burning, voices like Colonel Sapam's serve as a healing balm. 'These are voices that need to heard and their stories of peace and reconciliation must be retold -- over and over again.
The FMR allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.
The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father.
The Manipur Police personnel allegedly drove the two women from the Kuki-Zomi community, who had sought refuge in their official Gypsy, to a mob of around 1,000 Meiti rioters in Kangpokpi district, the Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet has said.
Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation have been handed over two FIRs -- one filed by police at the Lamphel station and the other filed by the boy's father -- Joshua Hangsing -- at the Kangpokpi police station.
'If Manipur is divided on ethnic lines, similar demands will come in other states also.'
'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?'
In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said.
Chowdhury said that the visiting MPs will present their observations on Manipur in Parliament.
Addressing a party rally in Rajasthan, Gandhi also flayed the BJP over the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur and said the ideology of the BJP has set the northeastern state on fire.
This comes after 10 Kuki MLAs, cutting across party affiliations, had expressed their inability to attend the assembly session as violence in the northeastern state continued.
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.
'The Manipur government is a government now ruled by the mob.'
'Today, the biggest challenge is the large number of weapons that are out within both communities. Related to this, is the minds of both communities. Today, there's so much (hatred) against each other. '
'Manipur is critical to India's Look East policy.' 'It's a strategic state. In the Second World War, the Japanese entered Manipur through Burma.' 'China can use the same direction to approach India.'
An injured eight-year-old boy was killed along with his mother and another relative when an ambulance with the three on board was waylaid by a mob and set ablaze in Manipur's West Imphal district, officials said.
'Why is a powerful person called Amit Shah who camped in Manipur for three days not able to maintain law and order in the state?'
"This is the minimum expectation at this time of national tragedy," she said.
The death toll from clashes a day before rose to five on Monday as three more people, who were undergoing treatment in hospitals, succumbed to their injuries, they said.
Gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived in camouflage dresses in the Lilong Chingjao area, and opened fire targeting locals, they said.
The state government order came amid reports that properties belonging to members of one of the warring communities are being burnt or razed to the ground by the other in various places.
The Army and Assam Rifles were requisitioned in the night, and along with the state police, the forces arrested the violence by the morning, the spokesperson said.
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