Manipur: One Killed, PWD Minister’s House Ransacked in Fresh Violence, Curfew Imposed in Bishnupur

A fresh bout of violence was reported in Manipur involving suspected militants and the organized mob that left one person dead and two others injured. Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Govindas Konthoujam’s house was ransacked in the Bishnupur district of the state.

Following the fresh incidents of violence, an indefinite curfew was imposed in the Bishnupur district and the relaxation window was shortened by four hours in Imphal West as a precaution.

Ex-CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh, who was appointed as CM Biren Singh’s Security Advisor after violence first broke out in the state on May 3, said militants fired at a group of people in the Tronglaobi area of Bishnupur on Wednesday morning at around 9:30 am. “A person wounded in the firing died on the way to the hospital,” Singh was quoted as saying by TOI.

Manipur was rocked by violent clashes between the tribals and the majority Meiei community after Naga and Kuki tribals organised a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to protest moves to give scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Metei community on May 3. More than 30 people were killed and thousands displaced as the violence escalated in the Northeastern state.

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Singh added that a Meitei resident was injured in firing by suspected militants in Imphal West’s Singda bordering the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. Attackers fled the scene after security forces arrived.

According to a TOI report, on Tuesday, some Meitei and Kuki houses were set on fire in an area bordering Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. A few hours earlier, five shotguns, five grenades and three cartons of ammunition were seized from a car intercepted at the Kangchuk Chingkhong junction on the same day. Three men were arrested, the army said.