4 civilians shot dead in Manipur in fresh violence, curfew imposed again

mangaloretoday.com

Imphal, Jan 02, 2024: The Manipur government on Monday re-imposed curfew in the Thoubal and Imphal West districts after fresh violence erupted in the northeastern state.

Clashes broke out between unidentified armed miscreants and locals in the Lilong area in Thoubal district on Monday evening, according to local reports. According to the police, four people died in the clashes and their bodies are yet to be recovered.

The armed miscreants opened fire at civilians, said locals.

Following the violence, restrictions were reimposed in Thoubal and Imphal West districts.

"Due to the developing of law-and-order condition in the district and to prevent any untoward incidents and also loss of life and property and further as a precautionary measure, the curfew relaxation order dated 31’st December 2023 stands cancelled and full curfew is imposed in all areas of Imphal West District with immediate effect," said an order released by the District Magistrate of Imphal West’s office.

Later, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in a video message, requested the residents of Lilong to not "cause any more violence" and maintain peace and tranquillity in the area.

In the message, he also said that stringent action would be taken against the culprits.

"The state government will not take the incident easily. More police will be deployed in the area to arrest those culprits," he said.

Notably, the northeastern state of Manipur has been under the grip of ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a ’Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

The ethnic clashes claimed over 180 lives and some 10,000 army and para-military personnel had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state.

Courtesy: India Today