Imphal/Guwahati
The unbridged Meitei-Kuki divide, which is resulting in unabated violence in the northeastern State, has taken a huge toll on life and property.
Sample this: As many as 254 churches and 132 temples, totalling 386 religious structures, have been vandalised. They are part of the 5,172 cases of arson, with as many as 4,786 houses constituting the remaining numbers.
While 5,668 weapons have been looted from the state armoury since the beginning of the violence on May 3, security forces could so far recover only 1,329 of them. Another 15,050 ammunition and 400 bombs too have been recovered.
The continued violence has seen as many as 175 people getting killed and 1,108 others injured even while 32 persons are missing, the police said releasing the statistics. As many as 96 bodies remain unclaimed in morgues highlighting the gravity of the situation on the ground.
Addressing a press conference, IGP (Operations) I K Muivah said, “In this challenging time that Manipur is in, we can reassure the public that the police, central forces and the civil administration are trying round-the-clock to bring normalcy back.”
Developments involving the two communities, however, have shown no signs of an early solution to the crisis engulfing the State.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), the umbrella body of Meitei groups, met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and demanded the withdrawal of Assam Rifles from the state, alleging that the force was acting in a biased way, an allegation that the force has been categorically refuting.
In the memorandum to Singh, the COCOMI claimed that the Kuki groups caused embarrassment to the government by approaching the United Nations for a resolution to the Manipur crisis.
Earlier, it also termed the demand for re-imposition of AFSPA in the valley areas as “totally absurd” and “not logical.” In a statement by its media coordinator Somendro Thokchom, the COCOMI said, “Ransoms, extortions and killings are happening in Kuki dominated areas. There is reasonable peace in all areas where AFSPA was lifted long time back.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday extended further by two weeks the protection from coercive action it has granted to four members of the Editors Guild of India (EGI) in connection with two FIRs lodged against them in Manipur for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra sought the response of the complainant, who had lodged the FIRs against the EGI and its four members, asking as to how the offence of promoting enmity between different ethnic groups was made out against them.
The Manipur government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said the top court may protect the EGI and the members for some more time and let the plea be transferred to the Delhi High Court if the bench wished so.
The last few days have seen a spurt in violence with more than 10 people being killed in different incidents.
