'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
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.
The political war of words over Manipur intensified on Saturday with the BJP raising the incidents of atrocities against women in West Bengal and Rajasthan and questioning the 'silence' of the opposition, which termed it as a diversionary tactic to avoid debate on the situation in the north-eastern state.
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.
A leading Kuki-Zo organisation in Manipur has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of 10 youths in a gunfight with the CRPF, raising questions about the paramilitary force's neutrality. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) also reiterated its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community in the state, where ethnic violence between Kuki tribals and Meiteis has claimed over 250 lives since May last year. The ITLF claimed the post-mortem reports showed the youths were shot from the back, suggesting they were not engaged in a gunfight when they were killed. The organisation further alleged that CRPF personnel stationed nearby refused to intervene during an attack on Zairawn village, where a woman was killed. The ITLF has called for a political solution to the ongoing conflict, urging the Union Home Minister to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has called upon the West Bengal government to "act urgently" to address the grievances of the riot-hit people of Murshidabad district, particularly women. Rahatkar, who visited the riot-affected areas in Murshidabad and Malda over the weekend, said the commission is preparing a report which will be submitted soon to the Centre with copies to top state officials. The report will incorporate the views of women who narrated their ordeal during the violence, including demands for a Border Security Force (BSF) camp in the affected area. Rahatkar also expressed concern about the lack of action by the State Women's Commission in visiting the affected areas.
Armed vigilante groups have been taking the law into their own hands in parts of Manipur, in the wake of ethnic rioting earlier, thus complicating the peace process. At times, militant groups have joined in the fray, creating an even more volatile cocktail of ethnic tension.
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.
The Manipur government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has filed a status report on the issue of recovery of arms from 'all sources' in the ethnic violence-hit state.
Expressing anguish over the manner in which women were subjected to grave atrocities in Manipur, the Supreme Court has said that mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the other community and the state is bound to stop this.
In a separate incident, a tribal woman had lodged a complaint at Saikul police station, stating that her 21-year-old daughter and her 24-year-old friend were allegedly raped by a mob at their rented house near Konung Mamang before brutally murdering them on May 4.
The top court also took note of the submissions about objectionable public utterances by some groups and individuals.
'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?'
After being elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in 1999, Najma Heptulla rang up the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from Berlin to convey the news but had to hold the phone line for an hour as a staff told her that 'madam is busy'.
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.
The two jawans received splinter injuries in the blast and later succumbed.
In a lengthy statement on X late Monday night, a defiant Kamra said those busy leaking his number on social media or calling him incessantly should know that it all goes to his voicemail where they will be subjected to "the very song" that they hate.
The 18-year-old from Manipur also bettered her own junior national record in snatch. She, however, could not finish on the podium in all the three sections.
Two bodies, including that of a woman, with bullet wounds were recovered in Imphal East and West districts in Manipur, police said on Thursday.
Governor La Ganesan and Chief Minister N Biren Singh were among the early voters in their respective constituencies of Sagolband and Heingang.
He would be the first non-Jammu and Kashmir cadre officer to be posted in Srinagar after the cadre was merged with the Assam, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5, 2012.
'Even if we have laws in place, which we must, we need a societal change.' 'Rather than telling our daughters that, "Listen, leave your house at so and so time, come back by so and so time," we must tell the men and boys that "Whatever point of time you encounter a woman in public space or wherever, you treat her with respect, dignity, and as an equal participant in these public spaces".'
Olympic Silver medalist Mirabai Chani's feat is a story of grit, dedication and desire, but it isn't unique. In Manipur, discovers Vaibhav Raghunandan.
According to an official release, the voting percentage is likely to go up when reports from all polling stations are obtained, as polling was scheduled until 6 pm in many constituencies.
Being small does not make a child a less human being than a grown up, the court observed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took the Congress to the cleaners over making the 2024 general elections about the protection of the Constitution, saying Indians voted on the plank only once when they threw out the Indira Gandhi government in 1977 after the Emergency.
A purported video of the incident showing the mob beating the women up mercilessly on Wednesday was shared in the social media by Amit Malviya, the head of BJP's IT cell on Saturday.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
In more than a dozen assembly constituencies, the Muslim community, locally known as 'Pangal' or 'Meitei Pangal', can swing results.
A group of heavily armed militants shot dead the leader of a Manipuri women's group on Sunday night, in front other members of her family, at her residence in Nongren Mayai Leikai in Imphal East district.KCP-MC has claimed responsibility for the dastardly act, saying the senior leader of 'Meira Paibis' (woman activists) had not heeded their warnings, against keeping in touch with security forces, which are operating against rebel groups in the state.
'You can still hear gunshots, and this time even children know they are not normal.'
The seizure of liquor has been a matter of concern for the EC since it apprehends that the liquor might be used to influence the voters.
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.
A special court in Manipur on Friday granted bail to the five village defence volunteers who were arrested by the police for possessing weapons amid an agitation for their release, officials said.
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.
The Manipur government has initiated to sign a memorandum of understanding with Apunba Lup, a banner organisation of 20 groups that led protests against the alleged fake encounters on July 23, last year, to end the agitation in the state.
Modi slammed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the most directionless the country has ever seen and cited reviled names, such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar on Thursday said that police will listen to the complaints of every individual in Sandeshkhali and strict action will be taken against those found guilty.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
