E-Paper
Manipur schools to remain closed till October 5
Earlier, the Manipur government had closed the schools in the state on September 27 and September 29 after the state Capital started to witness fresh bout of protests
The Manipur government on Monday announced that the schools in the state will remain closed till October 5 in view of the prevailing situation.
“In continuation of this office of even no. dated 26th September 2023 all state government/state government aided/private unaided school will remain closed till 5th October 2023,” L Nadakumar Singh, director of Education (schools) in an order issued on Monday.
It may be recalled that the state education department had closed all state government/state government aided/private unaided schools on September 27 and September 29 after the state Capital started to witness fresh bout of protests following the photographs of two students--Luwangbi Linthoingambi Hijam (17) of Tera and Phijam Hemanjit(20) of Takyel --who had gone missing since July 6, surfaced on the social media on September 25.
On Sunday, four persons were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led security forces team in connection with the killing of these two students.
On Sunday, the state government extended the ban on mobile internet by another five days till October 7.
After the ban was lifted on September 23 afternoon in view of improving law and order conditions, the state government on September 26 re-imposed the ban on mobile internet, after the state started to witness fresh protests that broke out in the state capital.
On Monday, the curfew was relaxed for 12 hours in Imphal West and Imphal East districts from 5am to 5pm. Both these districts will continue to have similar period of curfew relaxation hours on Tuesday as well.
Despite the imposition of the curfew, there are reports of staging sit-in demonstrations in and around the state Capital on Monday demanding justice for the two young students.
Manipur Police said the two students might have got trapped in an area dominated by the Kuki community while fleeing, after which they were allegedly abducted and murdered.
The clashes between the Kuki and Meitei in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. At least 178 people have died and another 50,000 displaced in the violence.
