Ex-chief minister N Biren Singh leaves for Delhi amid escalating Manipur tensions
Former chief minister N Biren Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha lawmaker Leishemba Sanajaoba left for New Delhi on Monday to brief central leaders on the escalating tensions in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
An influential Meitei outfit member's arrest over the weekend triggered the fresh violence that left at least 11 people injured and prompted authorities to reimpose restrictions, and governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to conduct a security review.
Singh, who resigned as the chief minister in February after the Supreme Court directed a central forensics lab to examine leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring him purportedly saying the ethnic violence was instigated at his behest, declined to comment when asked whether Union home minister Amit Shah had summoned them.
Singh said they were headed to New Delhi to apprise the central leadership of the worsening situation, four months after the president's rule was imposed in Manipur in February following Singh's resignation. 'I appeal to the public, this is a very crucial stage. People should act cautiously and in unity, avoiding violence. Unity is our strength, and every step taken should move us toward peace.'
Protesters on Sunday defied prohibitory orders and blocked major roads in parts of the state capital, Imphal, by burning debris and tyres, a day after clashes rocked the city. A police post was torched, forcing police to use tear gas shells. A road was blocked to stop Border Security Force personnel from entering the city.
The arrest of Kanan Singh, a member of the Meitei body Arambai Tenggol, and the detention of four of his associates triggered the latest wave of violence. On Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation said that it had arrested Singh over his involvement in the violence in the state.
On Saturday, hundreds of protesters resorted to arson and threw stones at security forces as the news of Singh's arrest broke. The Arambai Tenggol demanded Singh's immediate release and announced a 10-day shutdown.
Singh was dismissed from the police force this year over his alleged involvement in smuggling weapons and looting armouries.
The authorities suspended broadband and mobile data services in Imphal East and West, Kakching, Thoubal, and Bishnupur, saying some 'anti-social elements might use social media' to incite the public. A curfew was reimposed in Bishnupur for the first time this year. The movement of people in the valley districts was restricted due to apprehension of a breach of peace.
The fresh unrest comes against the backdrop of a meeting between Union home ministry officials and representatives of Kuki-Zo militant groups who signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact in 2008. It will be the first meeting between the two sides since the peace pact was put in abeyance last year.
The Union and the Manipur governments signed the pact with the militant groups. I was renewed annually until 2024, when the renewal was kept in abeyance following allegations that members of the groups were involved in the ethnic violence.
The protracted violence between Meiteis and Kukis was triggered in May 2023 and has left around 250 people dead and thousands displaced. Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They have withdrawn to their respective strongholds. The groups have since 2023 set up road blockades to restrict each other's and the movement of essential items between their strongholds.
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