Ethnic Violence Erupts in Manipur Again: Amit Shah Holds Meetings With Both the Communities
After a lull, violence emerged once again in Manipur, here’s everything you need to know about Amit Shah’s 4-day visit to Manipur
Manipur: It has been around a month since the emergence of violence in the State of Manipur. 3rd of May, in the district of Churachandpur, after the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, violence erupted between the Meitei community and the local Kuki community. From there, the fire of the violence gained momentum and spread to the State’s capital Imphal. The mobs attacked the DGP’s home, a vehicle in which a BJP MLA was travelling. The State Government practically ‘almost collapsed’, they issued “shoot at sight” orders to be used in “extreme cases”. Police officials were reporting “the looting of over 1,000 armed weapons”. The prices of essential items like rice, potato, onion and egg besides LPG cylinders and petrol are much higher than the rate fixed by the government and the common people have to adhere to them.
Although the level of violence was nill for a few days but with both the communities feeling “Separation is the only answer”, the violence emerged later on. Thus, on Monday night, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accompanied by Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka flew down to Impal and tried to restore peace, law and order.
On Tuesday, after Amit Shah held talks with a cross-section of Kuki and Meitei leaders and civil society groups besides top security officers, he visited Churachandpur to hold talks with Kuki leaders. He tweeted, “Reviewed the security situation in Manipur in a meeting with senior officials of the Manipur Police, CAPFs and the Indian Army in Imphal. Peace and prosperity of Manipur is our top priority, instructed them to strictly deal with any activities disturbing the peace”. Later on, while holding a press conference, he said that a panel led by a former High Court judge will probe violence in Manipur.
The government also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to those who died during the ethnic conflicts in the State. Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh has warned of legal action against anyone found to be in unauthorised and illegal possession of arms and ammunition.
