Page 16 - Manipur

Fresh gun-and-bomb attacks in Imphal East district, say Manipur police

Armed men from the hills launched a series of gun-and-bomb attacks in parts of Lamlai assembly constituency in Manipur's Imphal East district on Sunday, police said. Security forces Army, BSF and police retaliated, resulting in a fierce exchange of fire at Sanasabi, Sabungkhok Khunou, and Thamnapokpi, officials said. Tension remained high in the surrounding villages as farmers were unable to tend to their paddy fields due to the firing from hilltop positions towards the low-lying fields of Sanasabi, they added. To prevent the situation from escalating further, additional forces have been deployed, police said. PTI COR Suspected hill based militants launched intermittent gun and bomb attacks in parts of Lamlai assembly constituency in Imphal East district on Sunday, police said. Security forces comprising of army, BSF and state forces retailiated leading to fierce exchange of fire at Sanasabi, Sabungkhok Khunou and Thamnapokpi, police said. Tension prevailed in the outlying vill

Six houses torched, tribal villagers attacked in Manipur's Jiribam

At least six houses were torched and residents of a tribal village were attacked by a group of armed militants in ethnic strife-torn Manipur's Jiribam district, police said on Friday. The incident occurred on Thursday evening in Zairon Hmar village after the group of militants set the houses on fire, a senior officer said. "Preliminary reports suggested that several villagers managed to flee during the attack and took shelter in nearby forest. At least six houses were severely damaged due to the arson. An investigation is underway," he said. Kuki-Zo organisations claimed that a woman, a resident of the village, was killed during the attack but the report of death has not been confirmed by the district police. Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 200 people were killed. The violence erupted on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) ...

Security forces seize rockets, mortars after search operation in Manipur

Recovered items included two rockets measuring approximately 8 feet and two rockets measuring about 7 feet

Rs 2,395.51 cr sanctioned for road, bridge projects in Manipur: PWD

The Manipur Public Works Department said that Rs 2,395.51 crore was sanctioned for different road and bridge projects in the hill areas of the state from 2020-21 to 2024-25. In a press statement the Chief Engineer Manipur Public Works Department on Wednesday said the money was sanctioned during the period under various schemes. It said Rs 537.61 crore was sanctioned for 12 road and bridge projects in hill areas of the state in 2020-21. In 2021-22 a sum of Rs 244.72 crore was sanctioned for 27 projects, in 2022-23 a sum of Rs 708.27 was sanctioned for 130 road and bridge projects in the hill areas of Manipur, it said. The statement said 153 road and bridge projects worth Rs 673.88 crore was sanctioned in 2023-24 and 31 projects worth Rs 231.07 was sanctioned in 2024-25 for hill areas of the state. The hill areas of Manipur occupy 90 per cent of the total geography of the state. It said that in the same period 2020-21 to 2024-25, a sum of Rs 1,300.21 crore was sanctioned for road a

Eight UNLF (P) cadres arrested with arms, ammunition in Manipur's Thoubal

UNLF (P) members were arrested on Monday for threatening peope and restraining the land demarcation process

Security forces recover arms and ammunition from several areas in Manipur

The successful recovery of these warlike stores highlights the seamless cooperation between the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and other law enforcement agencies

Centre sanctioned 7,000 houses for internally displaced people: Manipur CM

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday said the Centre has sanctioned the construction of 7,000 houses for internally displaced and violence-hit people in the state. Talking to reporters at the CM Secretariat, he expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other leaders for their concern regarding the situation in ethnic strife-torn state. "I thank the PM, HM and other leaders as they are seriously concerned about the situation in the state. Recently, the Centre sanctioned the construction of about 7,000 houses in the state for the internally displaced persons. It will help them to shift from the different schools and colleges where they are currently sheltered. Proposals for another 2,000 houses for internally displaced persons are in the process," he told reporters. Detailing the distribution of housing, the CM said, "1,015 houses will be built in Bishnupur, 1,331 in Churachandpur, 1,217 in Kakching, 511 in Chandel, 1,813 in ...

Govt okays 50 National Highways projects in Manipur; all you need to know

For the upcoming Annual Plan of FY25, the Ministry has allocated funds for two more National Highway projects worth Rs 1,350 crore, which will cover a further 90 kilometres in the hilly regions

Normalcy can return only if 'weaponisation of society' reduced: Manipur DGP

Asserting that the Manipur Police was working round the clock to recover the arms that were looted from the security forces, DGP Rajiv Singh on Saturday said normalcy would only return if "weaponisation of society" could be reduced. Speaking to reporters on the sideline of the 133rd Manipur Police Raising Day, Singh claimed the situation in the state has improved. "These are very challenging times, a complex situation, but we have been trying to tackle it with the best possible strength, which we have, and with the cooperation of everybody, including the public, security agencies, CSOs and leaders of all communities," he said. "Weapons which are there in the society should come back to where they belong -- to the security forces, from where those were taken. For that, we are conducting operations and every day we are recovering weapons. We have appealed to the public to help us as well. Normalcy can only come if the weaponisation of society is reduced to a large extent. The Manipur

Manipur Congress slams BJP for 4-year delay in holding ADC elections

Manipur Congress alleged the BJP government in the state of being "anti-tribal" and "anti-hill" people for not holding autonomous district council (ADC) elections for the last four years. Manipur has six autonomous district councils. State Congress president Keisham Meghachandra in a post on X said, "The BJP government is anti-hill people, anti-tribal as this BJP government has deliberately chosen not to conduct ADCs elections for the last 4 years." Keisham also lashed out at the resolution passed by the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) under the Manipur Legislative Assembly on October 14 stating that the committee following a threadbare discussion unanimously resolved to "recommend to the government of Manipur to conduct the long pending Autonomous District Councils election as soon as possible." The committee also informed that in order to run the administration of the ADCs, a committee consisting of 20 members for each ADC shall be constituted of whom 18 shall be elected from former A

Meitei, Kuki, Naga MLAs to meet in Delhi for Manipur peace talks today

In an effort to restore peace in strife-torn Manipur, MLAs belonging to Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities are meeting here on Tuesday for the first time since ethnic violence broke out in the state 17 months ago, sources said. The meeting has been called by the Ministry of Home Affairs in an attempt to iron out differences between Meitei and Kuki communities and find an amicable solution to the ongoing conflict and end the differences. Those who are likely to attend the meeting include from the Meitei side, Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh and MLA Thongam Biswajit Singh and from the Kuki community, Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen (both state ministers). The Naga community will be represented by MLAs Ram Muivah, Awangbow Newmai and L Dikho, the sources said. However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh will not attend the meeting. The meeting comes nearly a month after Shah said that resolving the situation in Manipur requires dialogue betw

Meitei, Kuki, Naga MLAs set first joint meeting since Manipur violence

Home Ministry to facilitate talks between Manipur MLAs to address the ongoing crisis. The exact number of Meitei and Kuki legislators expected to participate is yet to be finalised

Manipur Cabinet: People of unrecognised villages excluded from govt schemes

The Manipur Cabinet has decided to exclude residents of unrecognised villages from government schemes, including MGNREGS, citing the need for official recognition

Security forces recover arms and ammunition from Manipur's Kakching

On October 5, Manipur Police and Assam Rifles from Khengmol Hill in Churachandpur District recovered ammunition

Manipur police recover 80% of firearms looted during Ukhrul violence

Sixteen firearms looted by a mob from the Ukhrul police station in Manipur were recovered, police said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference, Inspector General (Operations) IK Muivah said during the clash between two villages on October 2, an agitated mob stormed into the police station and looted 20 firearms. "With the cooperation of the security forces, Civil Society Organisations, and community leaders, 80 per cent of the weapons have now been recovered," he said. Efforts are underway to retrieve the remaining weapons, he said. Among the arms recovered were 9mm pistols, INSAS rifles and AK-47 rifles, he added. Muivah said the situation in the district was under control, and security forces, including the Manipur Rifles, Assam Rifles and BSF, were keeping a close watch with the cooperation of leaders of the two villages. "This is something unprecedented, noteworthy and praiseworthy for all those who have played a very positive role in restoring normalcy," he said. Assam R

Security forces conduct search ops in Manipur, seize arms, ammunition

In a significant operation, security forces carried out search operations in the fringe and vulnerable areas

Mob enters police station, loots arms during violence in Manipur's Ukhrul

A mob stormed a police station in Manipur's Ukhrul town and looted arms during a clash between two groups, officials said on Thursday. Three persons were killed and 20 others injured in a gunfight that broke out between two groups on Wednesday over cleaning a disputed land in the town as part of 'Swachhata Abhiyan'. The police station was attacked when the violence was going on. Prohibitory orders were imposed and mobile internet services were suspended in the town after the clash between two groups of the Naga community. "After violence broke out in Ukhrul town, a mob comprising mostly of youths stormed the police station located at Wino Bazar and decamped with government weapons," an official said. The number and types of weapons looted cannot be immediately confirmed as an investigation is continuing, he added. Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the looted weapons included AK-47 and INSAS rifles. Looting of arms was reported from various police stations in the ...

Two youth held hostage in Manipur released, handed over to police

Two youths who were held hostage by armed men in Manipur's Kangpokpi district were released and handed over to police on Thursday morning, seven days after they were abducted, an officer said. The two Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Th Thoithoiba Singh are being escorted back to Imphal, the police officer said. "The youths were handed over to Kangpokpi Superintendent of police at Gamgiphai naka and and left for Imphal," the police said. The two on September 27 had accompanied another youth N Johnson Singh who was appearing for SSC GD recruitment test at New Keithelmanbi. However, they lost their way in Kangpokpi district. While Johnson was rescued by the army and handed over to the police, the two youths remained in the captivity of armed men. The state government with the assistance of the Centre carried out negotiations to secure the release of the two youths. Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in a post on social media said, "The two young men abducted in Kangpokpi on ...

Security forces recover huge cache of explosives in Manipur's Selam village

Security forces recovered a huge cache of explosives, including 21 big and medium IEDs, at Senam village in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, the police said on Wednesday. The explosives were found when the northeastern state, affected by ethnic clashes since May 2023, witnessed escalated violence from early last month when drone attacks by militants were reported. About the recovery, the police in a statement said that they found, among others, 10 big improvised explosive devices, 11 medium-sized IEDs, 42 country-made grenades, seven No.36 hand grenades, two Chinese grenades and 34 petrol bombs. Besides, one country-made Lathode gun, a rifle and pistol, two Pompi guns and detonators were recovered. More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis since May last year.

Gunfight in Manipur's town over cleaning land, prohibitory orders imposed

Prohibitory orders were imposed in Manipur's Ukhrul town after a gunfight broke out between two groups on Wednesday over cleaning a plot of land as part of 'Swachhata Abhiyan', officials said. Both sides belong to the Naga community but two different villages, and lay claim to the land, they said. Some people were also injured in the gunfight, and the Assam Rifles were deployed to control the situation, police said. In the order imposing the restrictions, Ukhrul Sub-Divisional Magistrate D Kamei referred to a letter he received from the SP about "apprehension" over "social work" organised by Thawaijao Hungpung Young Students' Organisation (THYSO), and subsequent objection to it in the Hunphun area by Hunphun Village Authority. "And in connection with land dispute between Hunphun and Hungpung villages there is possibility creating law and order problem which may lead to breach of peace and public tranquillity between the two villages. And whereas, such disturbances may result in ...