Union minister's house set ablaze in Manipur, MHA rushes CRPF DG
New Delhi, June 16
Despite claims by the Centre of putting in all-out efforts to restore normalcy in strife-torn Manipur through various initiatives, the situation in the state continues to be volatile.
complete failure of law & order: minister
“Law and order situation has totally failed,” said MoS Rajkumar Ranjan after the attack
A mob on Thursday night set afire the Imphal house of Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. However, officials engaged in security operations in the state said the armed guards and firefighters managed to control the situation and saved the house from being gutted. The development came hours after the burning of two houses and clashes between Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel and a mob in the heart of Imphal town on Thursday afternoon.
women-led blockades have forces in bind
Forces are said to be finding it tough to remove blockades due to lack of women contingents to handle women protesters
Reacting to the developments, Ranjan told mediapersons that he had been trying to bring peace and stop violence since May 3, when ethnic clashes erupted in the state. The minister, who was on an official visit to Kerala to attend a party event, has cancelled all his engagements there to return home. Expressing anguish, the minister said the “law and order situation in Manipur has totally failed”.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rushed CRPF Director General SL Thaosen to Manipur to assess the situation, sources said. The Centre’s urgency to check continuous violence in Manipur comes after the killing of nine youths in a single incident and torching of the private residence of the Union Minister, they said.
Around 30,000 central security personnel are deployed in Manipur for law and order duties, besides state police forces. The forces include around eight battalions of central paramilitary forces, 80 columns of the Army and 67 columns of the Assam Rifles.
While the CRPF DG met Governor Anusuiya Uikey this evening and apprised her of the present turmoil, he also held closed-door meetings with local commanders so that further coordination among security forces could be ensured for effective results. However, sources in security setup said they are finding it difficult to remove blockades due to lack of women contingents to handle women protesters. As a result, supplies are getting affected. According to sources, the six arterial roads that have been blocked are Bishnupur-Churachandpur; Thoubal-Nangjing; Thoubal-Yairipok; Yairipok-Chandrakong; Kakching-Lamkai, and Uripok-Iroisemba.
They claimed that whenever a mob plans to target a particular area, its leaders’ instruct women vigilantes to block the roads. “They are using these women vigilantes as shield to prevent security forces from entering the affected village and controlling the situation,” a source said.
Clashes broke out in the state after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. So far, 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 have been injured ever since the ethnic violence broke out.
