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.
Manipur experienced a year of intense turmoil in 2024, marked by escalating violence, displacement, and deepening divisions between the Meitei community in the valley and the Kuki tribes in the hills. The conflict, rooted in historical grievances and fueled by political tensions, resulted in numerous casualties, mob attacks, and drone strikes on civilian areas. The situation has led to widespread displacement, fear, and a sense of insecurity among the affected communities, with no signs of peace in sight.
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.
Protesters took out torchlight processions overnight, burnt a government building and clashed with security forces, defying prohibitory orders as Manipur continued to witness demonstrations over the arrests of a Meitei organisation leader and four others, police said on Monday.
Violence was reported from some places of the north east state hours before the second phase of polling commenced as a BJP supporter was gunned down allegedly by a Congress worker and a crude bomb exploded outside the residence of an expelled saffron party leader, police said.
By ensuring Myanmar remains dependent on Chinese economic and military assistance, Beijing indirectly exerts pressure on India's North Eastern states, making New Delhi's regional security strategy even more complex.
Two people have been arrested along with a bomb-fitted car during search operations in Imphal East and Thoubal districts of Manipur by police commandos.A combined team of police commandos attached to different districts launched massive search operations in the two districts following reports that suspected insurgents were planning to plant bombs at different areas on Thursday, said the police.
The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by a mob. A 26-second video of the incident had surfaced on July 19.
In a symbolic protest against insurgency-related violence in Manipur, about 100 children set ablaze their toy guns in an interior village in Thoubal district, an official report said on Monday.
Former India spinner and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh has demanded "capital punishment" for all those who were involved in the heinous crime of parading two Manipuri women naked and allegedly gang-raping them.
The withdrawal of Assam Rifles comes at a time when several groups of women in valley districts launched a demonstration on Monday, demanding the removal of the paramilitary force from the ethnic strife-torn northeastern state.
'I just wanted to...bring attention to what's happening in Manipur...to urge everyone in India and Manipur to embrace peace and avoid conflicts.'
A man who was part of the mob that paraded naked two tribal women in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and was seen dragging one of them was among four persons arrested on Thursday as the incident of May 4 drew widespread condemnation.
All the injured were rushed to Thoubal district hospital. The area has been cordoned off by the police. Police is combing the area to search for other IEDs by using metal detectors.
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a video from May 4 surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side, officials said in Imphal on Wednesday.
According to a senior officer, during the two-week deadline for surrender of arms and ammunition, a total of 990 arms were surrendered with 11,526 ammunition.
Singh also attributed the current crisis to the 'failure' of the previous government in guarding the state's borders.
The incident occurred at Sapormeina when the buses were coming from Dimapur on Tuesday evening.
Violent protests over the death of two youths in Manipur continued till the early hours of Thursday with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner's office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers, officials said.
The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
All the four accused, who were allegedly part of a mob that disrobed and paraded two women in Manipur on May 4, were remanded to 11-day police custody on Friday, the police said.
'Today, both in the hills and valley there is radicalised militant activity which poses a direct national security threat.' 'This kind of militancy in Manipur is unprecedented, I have never seen such largescale militancy in my life.'
Hundreds of students, who have been camping at Khwairamband Women Market since Monday, tried to march towards the Raj Bhavan along the BT Road but were stopped by security forces near the Congress Bhavan.
"The violent mob vandalised all the houses and burnt them to the ground after looting all the moveable properties," the FIR lodged at Saikul police station claimed.
The government has asked Twitter and other social media platforms to take down a video of two Manipur women paraded naked, since the matter is being probed.
The Congress will begin the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the violence-hit Manipur on Sunday, in what is being seen as the party's bid to set the narrative in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and put the spotlight on issues such as unemployment, price rise and social justice.
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.
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.
One more body was found near the Bardhaman railway station in West Bengal, taking the death toll in last Sunday's violence on board the Guwahati-bound special train carrying north-east people to six.
Four persons were injured when a series of bombs exploded in Manipur during Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday.
The video, which drew widespread condemnation, shows the men constantly molesting the two helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors to spare them the horror.
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.
A powerful bomb exploded near a Border Security Force camp and an unexploded one was removed at Heirok area in Manipur's Thoubal district on Thursday, official sources said.
The Manipur government has set itself on course to arm villagers as special police officers in the worst insurgency-affected pockets of the state.
They said information has been circulated throughout all formations to ensure that the Manipur Police Commando uniform, black in colour, is not misused and they have been instructed to intensify the vigil.
'The irony of this country is that the party in Opposition and the party in power both depend on Muslims.'
A protester was killed in firing during a clash between security forces and a mob vandalising properties in Manipur's Jiribam district. The incident occurred late on Sunday night when agitators were protesting the killing of women and children abducted by militants. The deceased has been identified as K Athouba, who was in his twenties. The offices of the Congress and BJP, and a house belonging to Jiribam's Independent MLA were ransacked by a group of agitators. Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed in Imphal Valley, where curfew remained enforced and internet services suspended after agitators vandalised and set ablaze properties belonging to several ministers and legislators.
A labourer was killed and six others were injured when suspected militants exploded two bombs in Thoubal district of Manipur, police said.
Official sources said Assam Rifles personnel acting on a tip off raided Sora area in Thoubal and gunned down the militants.
They said keeping in mind the situation arising out of ethnic clashes that broke out in the state on May 4, a team of women officials and personnel from Manipur police was formed to probe the case.
