Union Home Minister will hold key meetings in New Delhi to review the situation in Manipur. The meeting will be attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka.
This would be the second meeting in two days to take stock of the situation in Manipur. A strategy would be chalked out to handle the volatile situation in the state in which violence has flared up again.
Amit Shah had held a meeting on November 17 after cancelling his election rallies in Maharashtra.
The situation in Manipur has been volatile and the state has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year. There have been incidents of violence and protests after the recovery of bodies of women and children.
During the meeting, the Home Minister is likely to give directions to handle the current situation.
The incidents took place despite a curfew being clamped. The people were agitated following the killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district.
Irate mobs torched the houses of PWD minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglam’s BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tentha’s BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpam’s Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district.
The legislators and their family members were not at home when the violence took place. The mob stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, the police said.
On November 11, the Manipur police said that ten suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station adjacent to a CRPF camp in Jiribam.
A few hours later, the militants abducted six civilians, including women and children, from the same district.
The Union Home Ministry said on November 16 that all security forces deployed in the state have been directed to take necessary action to restore law and order. The ministry also said that armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence, leading to the loss of lives and disruption of peace in Manipur.
It further added that strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities. The Centre also took note of the fragile situation and re-imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur’s six police station areas, including Jiribam.
Since the outbreak of the violence, over 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless. The violence began last year after a Tribal Society Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
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