Manipur: Curfew fails to control mobs, protesters decry excessive force
Tensions continue to rise in Manipur as hundreds of protesters defied curfew orders, attempting to surround Chief Minister N Biren Singh's ancestral home on the outskirts of the state capital, Imphal, on Thursday night. Security forces successfully prevented the mob from reaching the residence, using tear gas and firing in the air to disperse the crowd. Meanwhile, the Manipur police chief has formed a committee to look into claims of excessive use by security forces.
Why does this story matter?
Manipur has been marred by ethnic violence for nearly five months, which has resulted in over 180 deaths and thousands being displaced. Meiteis, forming the state's majority, are demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, alleging infiltration from Bangladesh and Myanmar, while tribals are opposed to it over fears of losing their ancestral land. The current unrest was fueled by the presumed killings of two Meitei students, aged 17 and 20, whose lifeless bodies appeared in viral social media photos recently.
Mob stopped 200-300 meters away from CM's house
The police said that two groups of people, numbering around 500, tried to approach Singh's ancestral home at Luwangsangbam in Heingang. However, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and state police personnel stopped the crowd around 200-300 meters away from the house. Notably, an irate mob vandalized Manipur BJP chief Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi's residence and injured her niece on Wednesday night. In June, a mob attacked her residence and torched the BJP office in Imphal East's Thongju Assembly constituency.
Investigation into students' deaths underway
The students, both from Imphal, went missing near Bishnupur on July 6. The Manipur government's status report submitted to the Supreme Court in August suggested that "Kuki armed miscreants" may have abducted the two friends. After the Manipur government restored internet services, a photo of the couple seated in what appeared to be a jungle with two armed men behind them surfaced online, alongside another photo of their lifeless bodies. Hours later, mobile internet services were suspended for five days.
New group Youth of Manipur led protests
The protests against the Meitiei students' deaths were led by a new group identified as the Youth of Manipur (YOM), the police said. They have two demands—the immediate arrest of the students' killers and a meeting between all Manipur MLAs and central leadership in Delhi to find a concrete solution to the crisis. Amid the protests, top officials of paramilitary forces and Manipur Police held a meeting on Thursday after civil society groups accused security forces of using excessive force.
ITLF social media account withheld, AFSPA only in hill areas
In light of the prevailing situation, the government on Wednesday extended the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur by another six months. However, it has reportedly been imposed on the hill areas, while the Imphal Valley, dominated by Meiteis, has been exempted. Separately, the social media account of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a joint body representing the Kuki-Zo tribes in the state, has been withheld, India Today NE reported.
