If there was a prime minister of the Congress, the violence in Manipur would have been controlled by the fourth day, party leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on Sunday. Addressing a rally as part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam's Nagaon district, he claimed that even PM Narendra Modi can control the violence in the Northeastern state within three days with the help of the Army, but the BJP doesn't want to do it. "Manipur has been burning for several months, but our prime minister hasn't gone there till date. Had it been a Congress PM, he would have gone there in three days and the fire there would have been doused on the fourth day," Gandhi said. "If the prime minister gives an order to the Army, in three days they can stop it. But, the BJP doesn't want to douse the fire. That's why the PM doesn't go there and order the Army to stop the 'tamasha'," he claimed. He alleged that the BJP-ruled government in Assam has been threatening people and trying to suppress their voice, but they
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted people of three northeast states -- Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya -- on their statehood day. In a post in X, Modi said, "On Manipur's Statehood Day, my best wishes to the people of the state. Manipur has made a strong contribution to India's progress." "We take pride in the culture and traditions of the state. I pray for the continued development of Manipur," he said. Modi also greeted the people of Tripura on their statehood day, wishing that may this day celebrate the unique history and rich heritage of the state. "Wishing prosperity and harmony to the people of Tripura," he said. In another post, Modi said, "Happy Statehood Day to the people of Meghalaya! Today is an occasion to celebrate the incredible culture of Meghalaya and the achievements of the people there." "May Meghalaya scale new heights of progress in the times to come," the prime minister said.
Manipur Police rejected the allegations by Kuki organisation that security forces collaborated with insurgent groups in Moreh town where incidents of violence were reported recently. Moreh is a town bordering Myanmar and it has been alleged by the state government that miscreants from the neighbouring country are fomenting trouble in the northeastern state. "The allegation of the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) and the Kuki Inpi Manipur regarding collaborations with valley-based insurgent groups and Meitei militants disguised as security force personnel in Moreh is not true. The allegations are baseless and misleading," the police said in a statement. Two police commandos were killed on January 17 in militant attacks in Moreh, while several others were injured. Kuki organisations alleged that surrendered valley-based insurgents were allowed to "mix freely" with the state police. Manipur has been rocked by ethnic strife since May last year and more than 180 people were killed. Th
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Four people were shot dead in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Thursday evening as ethnic violence continued in the northeastern state, police said. The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father. Police said they are investigating the case. Quoting one person who escaped the shooting, an official said, "Five-six armed miscreants came when the labourers were tiling the farmland and shot them from point-blank range." After shooting them down, the miscreants fled to the hill ranges from where they had come, the official added. With these four, at least seven people including two police commandos were killed in separate districts of the state since Wednesday. Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 180 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)
At least three BSF personnel sustained bullet injuries after gunmen fired at security forces in Manipur's Thoubal district, police said on Thursday. The incident occurred late Wednesday night when the gunmen from a mob which "attempted to breach the Thoubal police headquarters" fired at the security personnel, a police statement said. The mob, first, targeted the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion at Khangabok in Thoubal district and security forces repelled them using minimum force. "Further, the mob attempted to breach Thoubal police headquarters, prompting the security forces to use the force. Armed men from among the mob fired with live rounds. As a result, three personnel from BSF sustained bullet injuries," the police statement said. The three, identified as Constable Gourav Kumar, ASI Sobram Singh and ASI Ramji, have been sent to a private hospital. The district administration imposed a curfew in Thoubal. However, people, belonging to essential services including health, media,
The death toll in the gunfight between state security forces and militants at Moreh in Manipur's Tengnoupal district rose to two after another security personnel was shot dead on Wednesday evening, officials said. The deceased has been identified as Takhellambam Saileshwore from Lamshang in Imphal West district, they said. Earlier in the day during an ambush near Ima Kondong Lairembi Devi temple, 32-year-old Wangkhem Somorjit, a Manipur Police personnel, died after being hit by bullets. He succumbed to injuries during treatment at Key Location Point (KLP) of Assam Rifles. Two more Manipur Police personnel were injured in the exchange of fire between security forces and militants, officials added. The militants had also fired RPG shells at the temporary commando post damaging several vehicles parked in the vicinity. Meanwhile, large number of women from Malom in Imphal West district blocked the road to the airport in protest against the killing of the policemen in Moreh. Spokesper
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet against five people on Wednesday in a case of looting of arms and ammunition from Manipur Police personnel in May 2023. The chargesheet was filed before the court of chief judicial magistrate, Kamrup (Metro) in Assam's Guwahati, a CBI spokesperson said. The federal agency had taken over the case from the Manipur Police (Heingang police station in Imphal East) in June last year. The case pertain to a mob storming into the Manipur Police Training College's (MPTC) Pangei complex on May 4, 2023 and allegedly looting a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the armoury during an ethnic conflict in the northeastern state, the CBI spokesperson said.
One state police personnel was killed when suspected Kuki militants attacked a security forces vehicle in the border town of Moreh in Manipur's Tengnoupal district on Wednesday, police said. The deceased was identified as Wangkhem Somorjit an IRB personnel attached to state police commando in Moreh. Somorjit hails from Malom in Imphal West district, they said. The security forces also exchanged fire with suspected Kuki militants in three different locations in Moreh town on Wednesday morning, police said. The militants hurled bombs and fired at a post of security forces near SBI Moreh, police said, adding that the security forces retaliated the fire. The militants had also fired RPG shells at the temporary commando post damaging several vehicles parked in the vicinity. The suspected Kuki militants fired at the security forces post, 48 hours after two suspects in the killing of a police officer were arrested by state forces in the border town, police said. Earlier, following input
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"Yatra has just started and it has begun very well. The Yatra will go on and it will influence our morale," Khurshid said while speaking to ANI.
At the launch of the Yatra in Manipur's Thoubal, after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state refused Congress permission to hold a public meeting at Imphal's Palace Ground
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday embarked on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from here in Manipur with a promise to bring peace and harmony in the ethnic violence-hit state. The violence that broke out in the northeastern state in May last year has claimed more than 180 lives and rendered thousands homeless. Addressing a public meeting in Thoubal, which is south of Manipur capital Imphal, Gandhi also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying perhaps for the BJP and the RSS, Manipur was not a part of India. "Lakhs of people faced losses, but the prime minister has not come here to wipe your tears, hold your hand or embrace you. Maybe for Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS, Manipur is not a part of India. Your pain is not their pain," Gandhi said. "We understand the pain that the people of Manipur have been through, we understand the hurt, the sadness. We will bring back harmony, peace and affection for which this state was known," he said. The yatra will cover a distance of
The Congress on Friday said that the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be flagged off from a private ground in Manipur's Thoubal district on January 14, instead of state capital Imphal. Congress's Manipur president Keisham Meghachandra said that permission was sought to begin the yatra from the Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal but the state government gave the go-ahead with certain conditions, forcing to change the venue at the last moment. "We had proposed to the state government on January 2 that Hapta Kangjeibung public ground in Imphal be allowed for flagging off the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. We had also announced that the Yatra will start from Imphal, and culminate in Mumbai," he said. "We met Chief Minister N Biren Singh in this regard on January 10 but were told that the permission will not be given. Later that night, an order was issued which gave permission for Hapta Kangjeibung ground but with a limited number of participants," he added. Meghachandra said that
Three persons, who went missing while collecting firewood in a forest, were found dead in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Thursday, police said. Four people from Akasoi in Bishnupur district went missing on Wednesday afternoon when they had gone to the nearby hills in Churachandpur to collect firewood. The bodies of Ibomcha Singh, 51, and his son Anand Singh, 20, and 38-year-old Romen Singh were found near Haotak Phailen, police said. A search is on for the other missing person, identified as Dara Singh, they said. The three persons were suspected to be killed by militants, a police officer said.
Pande added that the operational preparedness of the Indian Army is very high and deployment robust
Heavy fuel leaked from a power station in Manipur's Imphal West district and spilled into streams flowing alongside it, officials said on Thursday. The incident happened on Wednesday night at the Leimakhong power station. Streams passing through villages such as Kanto Sabal and Sekmai were affected by the spill, they said. These streams meet the Imphal river -- the lifeline of the region -- downstream, they added. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) directed the departments concerned to take "immediate necessary action to prevent an environment calamity, making use of all available resources in terms of machinery, manpower and expertise". Heavy machinery was deployed to divert the flow of the water in the affected streams towards fields, an official told PTI. "It is yet to be determined if miscreants were involved in this or if it was accidental," he said. Locals said the water of the streams is used by them for daily chores. "Not just aquatic life but also the communities that de
The Congress on Wednesday claimed that the Manipur government has declined to give its nod for the venue where the party's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is scheduled to begin on January 14. Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Keisham Megachandra termed the state government's decision as "unfortunate" and a "violation of people's rights". However, no comment from the state government is available. Megachandra said, "We met Chief Minister N Biren Singh and sought permission for the venue of 'Bharat Joro Nyay Yatra' at Hatta Kangjeibung in Imphal East district from where the rally is scheduled to be flagged off. However, the chief minister has declined to permit the same." A Congress delegation met Singh at the CM Secretariat. The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is scheduled to traverse 6,713 km in buses and on foot. It will cover 110 districts, 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 assembly segments in 66 days. According to the proposed programme, it will culminate on March 20 in Mumbai. The .
'Unfavourable situation' in Manipur were cited as the reason for the rejection of Congress rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections
A gunfight broke out between security forces and militants in Manipur's Moreh town along the India-Myanmar border on Sunday night, police said. Hills-based militants attacked state police forces, who retaliated, resulting in a gunfight, a police officer said. Further details are awaited. The border town in Tengnoupal district had witnessed a heavy gunfight on January 2, in which six security personnel, including a BSF jawan, were injured. They were airlifted to Imphal for better treatment. Before that, the town witnessed similar gun-battles since December 30. Chief Minister N Biren Singh had last week remarked that there were "high chances" that foreign mercenaries from Myanmar were involved in the attacks in Moreh.