Amit Shah chairs high-level meeting in Manipur on violence in the state

Imphal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday held a meeting with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and state ministers, senior leaders and officials to assess the situation and plan further steps to restore normalcy in the region. presided over. On the first day of his four-day-long tour of the state, Shah held a meeting in the presence of other concerned officials, including Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Deka. State as well as the Center. Soon after the home minister reached Imphal on his four-day visit to Manipur, the meeting was held as fresh violence broke out in the northeastern state a day earlier.

The objective of the meeting is to assess the situation in Manipur and plan further steps to restore normalcy there. During his stay in Manipur till June 1, the Home Minister will hold several rounds of security meetings. The visit comes in the wake of the killing of five people, including a Manipur police officer, the ransacking of a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA’s house and the looting of over 1,000 arms and ammunition allegedly by a mob from the armory of the Manipur Rifles and IRB I went. State security forces have gunned down more than 30 suspected Kuki militants in the state in the last 48 hours.

Warm welcome to Imphal Mr. @AmitShah Yes, Honorable Union Home Minister. Your presence in Manipur has tremendously boosted the confidence of the people to restore peace in the state.

Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji will hold a series of meetings with various stakeholders … pic.twitter.com/sqEpRgsSOU

– N Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) May 29, 2023

There were also reports of mobs looting all arms and ammunition from the armory of 7 Manipur Rifles in Khabisoi, 2 Manipur Rifles in Devalhane and 3 Indian Reserve Battalion in Thoubal. According to security forces, a fierce encounter is underway between suspected Kuki terrorists and security personnel in Kadangband and Singda areas of Imphal West district. Besides attacking civilians in several foothills of Manipur, militants torched over 200 houses in three villages near Sugnu in Kakching district late on Saturday night.

On May 14-15, Home Minister Shah held a series of meetings with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and representatives of the Meitei and Kuki communities, as well as other stakeholders, to review the measures taken to restore peace in the state. Shah also held a meeting with representatives of the Kuki community of Manipur and a group of CSOs from Mizoram.

During the meetings, the Home Minister reviewed the measures taken to restore peace in Manipur, which has witnessed violent clashes between two ethnic communities. He then directed strict action against the perpetrators of the violence and assured full support and help of the central government to ensure lasting peace.

Shah then assured that the government would take all measures to protect various communities in the state, and urged discussions with all factions and spread the message of peace and assured that justice would be done. Shah also stressed on expediting the process of relief and rehabilitation so that the suffering of the people could be mitigated. On 5 May, the Home Minister had reviewed the situation in Manipur through a video conference meeting with the Chief Minister of the State and top officials of the State as well as the Centre.

On 4 May, Shah held two meetings via video-conferencing with chief ministers of Manipur and neighboring states, including Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam, in view of the situation in Manipur. Manipur witnessed violence on 3 May during a rally organized by the All Tribal Students’ Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. The march was organized to protest the demand for inclusion of the Meitei community in the state’s ST category following a directive from the Manipur High Court on 19 April.