Manipur: The body of a 61-year-old woman, likely among the six people who armed militants allegedly abducted from Jiribam in Manipur on November 11, was found floating in Barak River in Assam’s Cachar district, which borders Jiribam on Sunday morning. This comes two days after the bodies of a woman and two children were found floating in a river. In light of the violent protests that continue to sweep across Imphal Valley and the deteriorating security situation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has canceled his scheduled election rallies in Maharashtra and returned to Delhi, reports news agency PTI.
In another update, the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Anish Dayal Singh is scheduled to visit Manipur, reported ANI, citing sources.
Tensions escalated in Jiribam again on Sunday morning after a photo of the body was widely circulated. Arson attempts were reported in Jiribam’s Kalinagar area.
Following this, internet services were suspended in Jiribam and Pherzawl districts. The town had also been rocked by tensions on Saturday night, where, along with the vacated houses of Hmar families, at least four churches were targeted with vandalism and arson.
Six people from the same family – three women and three children, including a baby – had gone missing from Jiribam’s Borobekra area after violence in the area. All six are from the Meitei community and had been living in a relief camp set up at the Borobekra police station after violence gripped the area in June.
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Meitei groups have been alleging that they were abducted by armed Hmar men, alleged to be militants, who had attacked the area on Monday morning.
Following the violence at the relief camp, security forces had gunned down 10 of the armed men. Earlier this week, the bodies of two elderly Meitei men – also residents of the relief camp – had been found in the area.
Ripples of the violence in Jiribam district reached Imphal on Saturday, where indefinite curfew was imposed as massive protests broke out and homes of political leaders were targeted.
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During the day, mobs attacked and set fire to vehicles and property, including the residences of several BJP leaders. Late Saturday night, a mob also tried to storm Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s private residence in Imphal’s Heingang, though he was not present there at the time.
The mob was pushed back by security forces, who used blank fire and tear gas shells. Burning tyres lined the highway leading to his residence.
Internet services were also suspended in seven districts, including both Imphal East and West, for two days. The affected areas include all five districts of the central Meitei majority valley, as well as in the Kuki-Zo majority districts of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur.