Amit Shah cancels Maharashtra poll rallies as violent protests rage in Manipur

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has canceled his rallies in Maharashtra as protests rage in Manipur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has canceled his scheduled election rallies in Maharashtra as violent protests continue to sweep across Manipur’s Imphal Valley, reports news agency PTI.

Charred remains of goods following demonstrations after three bodies, suspected to be of six missing persons from Jiribam district, were found near the Manipur-Assam border on Friday night.(PTI)

Amit Shah has returned to Delhi in light of the deteriorating security situation in Manipur, where tensions remain high following a wave of violent incidents linked to the killing of six civilians, including three women and children, in Jiribam district. (LIVE UPDATES)

The protests, which have intensified since Saturday, saw enraged mobs setting fire to the residences of several BJP and Congress legislators, including a senior state minister, even as security forces struggled to maintain order in the region.

Fresh violence in Manipur

The fresh incidents of violent protests took place on Saturday night even as indefinite curfew was clamped after people, agitated by the killing of three women and children each by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three state ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday.

Enraged people torched the houses of PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglam's BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tentha's BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpam's Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district, the officials said.

The legislators and their family members were not at home when the angry mob stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, police said, adding the houses were partially burnt in the incidents.

In a separate incident, protesters attempted to storm the ancestral residence of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in Luwangshangbam, Imphal East. However, security forces, including personnel from the Assam Rifles and Border Security Force (BSF), fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, halting their advance just 100-200 meters from the CM’s residence. Despite this, protesters continued to block roads leading to Singh’s home, setting fire to tyres and placing iron rods across streets to disrupt movement.