Guwahati: Restive Manipur plunged into further turmoil on Saturday as demonstrators torched vehicles and property whilst attacking residences of numerous ministers and MLAs in Imphal, forcing authorities to clamp an Indefinite curfew and internet ban in several areas.
Attackers ransacked the house of chief minister Biren Singh's legislator son-in-law amidst mounting public outrage following the recovery of three bodies suspected to be of six displaced Meiteis who were kidnapped by Kuki militants on Monday in Jiribam district.
Protesters also tried to storm the personal house of the CM on the outskirts of Imphal but were chased away by security personnel.
The six abducted individuals, include three women and three minors, the youngest being just eight months old and were abducted from a village in Jiribam district, shortly after Crpf and Manipur Police gunned down 10 "armed militants" belonging to Hmar community. The Kuki-Zo communities claim they were village volunteers and not militants.
A source said that three more bodies were recovered inside Manipur near Barak river on Saturday early morning after three bodies were recovered from the river Friday afternoon and brought to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for autopsy.
Authorities in Silchar Medical College and Hospital said they received bodies of six people for autopsy. Over the past couple of days, security forces recovered the bodies of the Meitei community from Jirimukh, the confluence of the Barak and Jiri rivers near the Assam-Manipur border.
The protesters accused the ministers and MLAs of failing to address the escalating violence and demanded accountability from them and also opposed the re-imposition of AFSPA in areas under six police stations.
The houses of the people's representatives which were attacked included that of CM's son-in-law Rajkumar Imo Singh, Raghumani Singh, and Sapam Kunjakeswor, all from BJP and that of Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta.
Protesters also stormed the residence of health minister Sapam Ranjan and of consumer affairs minister L Susindro Singh in the capital city.
Soon, district authorities of Imphal east, Imphal West and Bishnupur districts clamped total curfew from 4.30 pm for an indefinite period "due to the developing law and order situation."
At 5.15 pm, the state govt ordered suspension of internet and mobile data services in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangpokpi and Churachandpur for two days to stop people from using social media to transmit hate speech and hate video messages.
The Centre issued a statement saying that the security scenario in Manipur has remained fragile for the past few days and "armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order."
The govt added that security forces have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace.
"Strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities. Important cases have been handed over to the NIA for effective investigation," it said and appealed to people to maintain peace and not believe in rumours.
The state cabinet in a late Friday night meeting decided to recommend to the Centre for declaring the organizations responsible for carrying out the inhumane crimes as unlawful organizations.
The Meitei Heritage Society (MHS) said, the abduction of women and children, taking their pictures in captivity and releasing them in public (to tell the world we captured them alive) and then murdering them in cold blooded in the most barbaric form is the most heinous crime.
"We are shocked beyond words, and nothing less than an exemplary capital punishment would do justice for the victims. We request the Centre and the Manipur government to go all out to arrest and punish the terrorists involved in this heinous crime, " the MHS added.
(With inputs from BB Goswami in Silchar)
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is curren...
Read MorePrabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.
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