Tension grips Malkangiri district in Odisha after a tribal woman was beheaded, leading to clashes and property damage. Internet services are suspended as authorities work to restore peace.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on Manipur high court judge Justice MV Muralidaran, saying despite being granted an opportunity he did not correct his judgment on grant of quota to the majority Meiteis in the strife-torn state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in strife-torn Manipur on Monday night to try restore peace by hammering out a solution between the warring communities.
More than 1,000 arms, including handguns, machine guns, grenades, mortars, and INSAS and AK-56 rifles, were surrendered by people in Manipur during a two-week amnesty period for voluntarily giving up looted and illegally held weapons. The surrender of arms comes as Manipur grapples with ethnic violence that has left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
The Congress claimed that not inviting the Manipur CM to the meeting violated Schedule 7 of the Constitution.
Curfew was relaxed in three Imphal Valley districts on Tuesday and the suspension on broadband internet lifted with conditions, even as Chief Minister N Biren Singh blamed the Congress for the present crisis in Manipur and NDA MLAs called for a "mass operation" against militants responsible for the killing of six women and children. Peaceful rallies were also staged across the state, with hundreds taking to the streets with empty coffins in Churachandpur district, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam, and members of various civil society organisations bringing out a procession in Imphal West district to protest the reimposition of AFSPA in parts of the state.
A mob led by Kuki-Zo women clashed with security forces in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Tuesday, triggering fresh tensions in the ethnic strife-hit state.
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.
People belonging to the Kuki-Zo community on Saturday took out three rallies in parts of Manipur to press their demand for a separate administration and protested against the viral audio clips allegedly of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in which certain objectionable comments were made.
The mother of Janata Dal-United MLA Kh Joykishan Singh in Manipur has lodged a complaint, alleging that Rs 18 lakh in cash and jewellery items worth Rs 1.5 crore were looted by a mob that vandalised the legislator's residence on November 16, police said on Thursday.
Security forces on Wednesday stopped nearly 100 internally displaced people in Manipur from returning to their villages in Dolaithabi in Imphal East district, police said.
In May, 40 Rohingyas were blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar islands and then thrown into the sea and made to swim to an island in Myanmar. And after the Pahalgam attack, at least 300 Muslims were 'pushed back' to Bangladesh from Assam.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien criticizes the government's focus on cross-voting in the vice presidential poll, urging attention to issues like US tariffs, Manipur violence, and MGNREGA funds.
Akshay Kumar and Urmila Matondkar expressed shock over a May 4 video of two women being paraded naked in strife-hit Manipur and demanded punishment for the perpetrators of the 'horrifying' incident.
The convoy was on its way to violence-hit Jiribam district.
No process can offer a panacea for ethnic conflict, but there are times at which a legal process could work to defuse violence, asserts Supreme Court lawyer Devvrat.
Thousands of agitators took part in the rally, during which violence between tribals and non-tribals was reported in Torbung area, a senior police officer said.
The Manipur government has ordered the state police to conduct combing operations and sanitisation in areas bordering Imphal West district where two persons were killed and nine others injured in an attack by suspected militants, officials said.
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.
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.
The situation in Manipur remained tense but under control on Wednesday after students clashed with security forces during their march to Raj Bhavan in Imphal a day before, police said.
The Parliament session is set to start today, with various issues slated to be discussed, including the Waqf Act (Amendment) Bill.
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.
He emphasised the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.
A shutdown has been observed since 5 am on Tuesday in Kuki-Zo majority areas in the hills to protest against the killing of suspected insurgents, the officials said.
'We decided to start the yatra from Manipur so that the people of India get a sense of what the people of Manipur have been through'
The United States is 'shocked and horrified' by the video of an extreme attack on two women in Manipur and supports the Indian government's efforts to seek justice for them, a senior Biden administration official has said.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday condemned the drone bomb attacks on civilians as acts of terrorism and vowed a firm response.
'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.'
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 statement assured that "security forces are on high alert to protect the lives and property of citizens. All communities are assured of their safety," and advised the public to "not believe in any rumors or unverified news."
The Superintendent of Police in Manipur's Kangpokpi district was injured after a mob attacked his office on Friday evening over the officer's alleged failure to remove central force from Saibol village bordering Imphal East district. Kuki organisations have been protesting against the alleged baton charge on women by security forces on December 31 in Saibol village. The attackers threw stones and other projectiles towards the office to vent their anger over the continued deployment of central forces, particularly the BSF and the CRPF in the village. Several others, including police personnel and protesters, also suffered injuries during the clash between security forces and attackers.
'I don't know whether on voting day there will be intimidation from some militant groups to vote for a particular person and then force them from voting for another in the stronghold of the candidate which does not favour them, or, force them not to come out for voting.' 'Anything is possible.'
'The state government, state forces, commandos, police, they are all with the Meiteis in attacking Kuki tribals.'
'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.'
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
The rocket which fell on the compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng's residence seemed to be an improvised one.
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.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
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'.
