Violence again in Manipur: Two Children Killed in Bomb Attack, Two People Killed in Police Firing on Protesters
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 7: Two children were killed in bomb attack by suspected militants while two people were killed and five injured in police firing following protest demonstrations as renewed violence hit Imphal valley in Manipur on Tuesday.
Officials in Bishnupur district said two children — a five-year-old boy and a six-month-old girl — were killed and their mother was injured when suspected extremists hurled a bomb at their house in the Moirang Tronglaobi area around 1 a.m. The low-lying Meitei-inhabited area is close to the hills of the Kuki-Zo-dominated Churachandpur district.
The incident triggered protests, and a mob attacked a Central Reserve Police Force camp located 200 metres from Tronglaobi. Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam on Tuesday stated that two people were killed and five others injured in firing after a mob stormed a CRPF camp in Bishnupur district to protest against the Moirang bomb attack. A large number of youths and women had joined the protest rally and the protesters stormed the CRPF camp near Gelmol, a few 100 metres from the bomb attack site, burnt vehicles and vandalised properties there, he said.
“I had urged the protesters not to enter the CRPF camp and to allow security forces to focus on conducting an operation to apprehend those involved in the bomb attack,” the minister said. But the demonstrators did not pay heed to the appeal.
“They stormed the CRPF camp, burnt vehicles and vandalised portions of the camp, leading to firing by security personnel. They fired either in self-defence or in anger. Two persons, unfortunately, died in the firing, while five others sustained bullet injuries,” the state home minister said.
Elsewhere, protestors torched two oil tankers and a truck and destroyed a makeshift police outpost. Reacting to the violence, the Bishnupur district administration earlier in the day imposed restrictions on the movement of people, while the State government suspended mobile internet services across five Imphal Valley districts for three days including Broadband, VSATs and VPN.
A Home department statement said, “In view of the prevailing law and order situation in five districts of Manipur – Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur and to stop the spread of disinformation and false rumours … the government has decided to order temporary suspension of internet services and mobile data services including Broadband, VSATs and VPN services in five districts.”
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh described the bomb attack as a “barbaric act” and said the government had decided to hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). “The act appears to be the handiwork of individuals or groups with vested interests in disturbing the prevailing peace in the State,” he said.
“The perpetrators are yet to be identified, but they will be caught at the earliest. A massive combing operation is underway, and combined security forces, including the State police, Assam Rifles, and CRPF, have been deployed. Helicopters are also being used,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said the security forces, including the Army, have been instructed to intensify operations and take swift action. State commandos, using bulletproof vehicles, have also been redeployed in the hill areas after a long gap. The Chief Minister appealed to the people to remain calm and not give in to emotions. He asked the citizens to cooperate with the ongoing operations and support the efforts to restore normalcy.
In an unrelated development, a minor internally displaced girl died at a relief camp. Expressing sorrow, the Chief Minister announced ex-gratia and all possible assistance to the affected families.
Manipur has been relatively peaceful since Mr Singh took charge in February, after almost a year of President’s Rule. Ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people broke out in the State in May 2023, leaving more than 260 people dead and displacing some 62,000 others forcing the Centre to impose the President’s Rule in the state keeping he state Assembly in animated suspension before the Singh ministry was formed in February.
