Violence in Manipur is not stopping. 5 people died in two separate incidents in Jiribam on Saturday. At the same time, suspected hill militants entered a house and shot an elderly man while he was sleeping. Reports of continuous firing have been coming from the area since morning.
The dead elderly man has been identified as Kulendra Singha. The second incident happened after this. In this, there was firing between Kuki and Meitei communities. 4 people died in this.
On Friday (September 6) late night, the Manipur Rifles Headquarters in Imphal West and Imphal East were attacked. The angry mob wanted to loot weapons from the security forces. The police retaliated along with CRPF jawans. They fired several rounds from pellet guns. Mock bombs and tear gas shells were also fired.
The clash between the security forces and the mob continued throughout the night
It is being told that clashes between security forces and the mob continued throughout the night. 5 people are reported to be injured. They have been admitted to JNIMS hospital. There is no confirmation of looting of weapons or ammunition so far. However, the number of dead and injured in the violence may increase at both places.
Violence continues since May 2023
Let us tell you that 4 major incidents have taken place in Manipur since September 1. 3 people have died and 12 people have been injured in 3 incidents. Violence has been going on in Manipur since May 2023. However, drone attacks were seen for the first time in September this year. On September 1, in Kotruk village of Imphal West district, militants fired from the upper area of the hill to the lower areas of Kotruk and Kadangband valley and attacked with drones. In this, 2 people were killed and 9 were injured.
There are many reasons for violence in Manipur, the main ones being-
- Demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Meitei community: People of Meitei community want to get ST status in the state like the Kuki community. However, the Kuki community opposed this demand.
- Encroachment on reserved forest land: There was tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserved forest land.
- Illegal migration from Myanmar: Illegal migration from Myanmar also increased tension.
- Increasing population: There is pressure on land use due to increasing population.
- Unemployment: Unemployment has pushed the youth towards militias.
- Handing over women to rioters by police: During the violence, the police handed over two women of the Kuki-Zomi community, who had pleaded for help to escape the mob, to the rioters. They were then sexually assaulted by the mob.
- A video went viral in July 2023: In this video, two women were being forced to walk naked towards a field by a mob of men.