Over seven months of violence severely hit businesses, schools, colleges and other institutions, besides disrupting transportation and communication networks. It also affected the agrarian sector, considered the mainstay of the state economy.
The lawlessness because of the fake picture spread like jungle fire and was one of the reasons for the state government to shut down the Internet on May 3, the officials said.
The Manipur high court has directed the state government to operationalise mobile towers, on a trial basis, in all those district headquarters which have not been affected by ethnic strife.
The spark for the raging violence was lit by demonstrations by tribal groups against a move to grant the majority Meiteis the Scheduled Tribe status, which the residents of the hills had been enjoying for decades since Independence.
Kumar said the increase was due to Outer Manipur being counted twice, since polls will be held there in two phases.
State security advisor Kuldiep Singh said that lawful action will be taken against those displaying firearms at the parade.
The officials said immediately after the video of the incident surfaced on July 19, Manipur police decided to suspend the station in-charge of Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district and four other police personnel.
Clashes between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants have left 36 people, a majority of them rebels, dead in Bajaur tribal region over the past three days, military sources said.
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.
At least 10 militants and a security personnel were killed on Sunday in a fierce clash in the restive South Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday said it has asked Manipur government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation each within four weeks to the next of kin of all the people who died in ethnic clashes since May.
The force also asked the Churachandpur police to disseminate the inputs to the SP of Kakching district and higher authorities so that "preemptive action can be taken to avert any kind of adverse incident".
People from Manipur's Kuki community held a protest outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in New Delhi on Wednesday against the ongoing violence in the northeastern state, the police said.
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.
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.
At least 13 militants have been killed in clashes with Pakistani security forces in the country's restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal belt, security officials said on Friday.
A suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest near the gate of a mosque in Nakai area of Tirah Valley, located close to the border with Afghanistan, as the Lashkar-e-Islam militants were leaving after offering Friday prayers, officials of the local political administration told the media.
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.
Shah on Thursday appealed to the people of Manipur to maintain peace and promised that justice will be ensured to all sections of society.
The dead were identified as belonging to Punjab province. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
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.
The violence broke out in the district on Thursday night as the mob barged into the government complex and torched vehicles hours after a head constable of the district police was suspended after he was seen with gunmen in a purported video, an official said.
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'.
In the wake of arrest of five persons for extortion in Manipur including a suspected member of a banned terror group, the Manipur police has again warned of stern action against all those who were misusing the uniform for their ulterior motives.
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.
Ahead of the visit, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur.
'The unfolding events indicate a dangerous internal security situation in Manipur and the region. It can have external ramifications also.'
A group of people torched the office building of the Range Forest Officer in Tuibong area around midnight, and several fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, they said.
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.
The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh by banking on the welfare schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel government, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to corner it on the issues of alleged corruption, religious conversions and unfulfilled poll promises.
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.
Security forces columns, which were immediately deployed in these "vacant" villages, responded cautiously to avoid any collateral damage.
These families were taken to the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on the northern side of Imphal Valley early on Saturday, as they had become 'vulnerable targets', an official said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the situation in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and top officials, even as the Centre dispatched additional security forces and anti-riot vehicles to maintain peace there, sources said.
The incident occurred at Kwakeithel Mayai Koibi under Lamphel police station a day after classes 1 to 8 began in the state after two months because of the violence.
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.
Nearly 100 Taliban fighters attacked a security check-post in Pakistan's restive tribal belt, triggering a clash that left 14 militants and three security personnel dead, officials said. The officials told the media that nearly 100 militants armed with sophisticated weapons attacked Ulay check-post in Baizai area of Mohmand tribal region overnight.
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 should tell from where do Kuki militants get rifles and ammunition, it said.
