Manipur: No order issued to mask ‘state transport' sign on bus, says chief secretary
The Manipur government had not issued any instructions to cover the words 'Manipur State Transport' on a state-run bus on May 20, Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh said on Thursday.
Singh said that the incident was 'deeply regretted' and that the state administration had taken it with utmost seriousness. 'The State will also ensure that such an incident does not occur in future,' the official.
The chief secretary said that what transpired on the ground that day will become clear only after a thorough inquiry. He added that Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had formed an inquiry committee consisting of the home department commissioner and the information technology secretary which will present its findings on the matter in a time-bound manner.
On May 20, central security forces allegedly stopped a group of 20 journalists in Imphal East district and directed them to hide the 'Manipur State Transport' sign on the government bus they were travelling in.
The incident occurred at the Gwaltabi checkpoint in Imphal East while the group was travelling to cover the Shirui Lily Festival, a cultural event organised by the state tourism department, in the Naga-majority Ukhrul district. The route to the district passes through several Kuki villages.
The team initially tried to comply with the direction. However, delays due to negotiations with the security forces forced them to cancel the trip and return to Imphal.
A video of the 'Manipur State Transport' sign being covered was circulated widely on social media.
On May 27, the student wing of Meitei civil society group Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity locked the offices of the chief electoral officer and the Geological Survey of India in Imphal West to protest the incident.
Manipur has been mired in ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities that have killed at least 260 persons and displaced more than 59,000 persons since May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024.
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