Manipur clashes: As many as 17 people were injured in clashes in Manipur’s Bishnupur district as the Indian Army and RAF personnel opened fire tear gas shells in the Kangvai and Phougakchao areas on Thursday (August 3), officials said.
The curfew relaxations which were announced earlier by the district magistrates of Imphal East and Imphal West were reimposed during the day on top of night curfew throughout the Imphal valley.
Hours before the clashes, a planned mass burial of Kuki-Zomi people killed in Manipur’s ethnic violence was stalled after the state’s High Court on Thursday morning ordered the status quo to be maintained at the proposed burial site in Churachandpur district.
An apex tribal body ITLF said that it was postponing the burial of 35 people at the site in Churachandpur district’s Haolai Khopi village, on Bishnupur’s border.
Locals come on streets
Thousands of locals took to the streets this morning in Bishnupur to block the movement of security forces.
Women-led locals attempted to cross the barricade installed by the Indian Army and RAF personnel. They demanded that they should be allowed to go to the burial site, Tuibuong.
The Manipur government withdrew curfew relaxations in Imphal East and West districts during the day as a precautionary measure. The district magistrates of Imphal East and West issued separate orders reimposing the day curfew apprehending disturbance.
Manipur High Court’s direction
The Manipur High Court today (August 3) has directed that the status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site in Haolai Khopi village of Churachandpur district where the Kuki-Zo community had planned a burial service for 35 people who were killed in the ethnic strife. The HC order was passed by Acting Chief Justice MV Muralidharan after a hearing at 6:00 am.
Earlier, additional central security forces had rushed to the Bishnupur-Churachandpur district boundary following the call by the ITLF. More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundred were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur 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) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals- Nagas and Kukis- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.
Parliament deadlock over Manipur
Parliament has witnessed a logjam between the government and the Opposition over the Manipur issue. The Opposition parties are demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the House on the issue. The parties have brought in a No-confidence motion against the Modi government over the issue.
(With PTI inputs)
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