Centre rushes more forces to Imphal after crisis meet

The Centre deployed 50 additional paramilitary companies to Manipur amid escalating ethnic violence, with the death toll surpassing 240 since May.

The Centre ordered deployment of 50 additional companies of paramilitary forces – approximately 6,500 personnel – to Manipur on Monday as the ethnic conflict showed no signs of abating, with Union home minister Amit Shah holding a second emergency meeting in as many days to tackle the spiraling crisis in the northeastern state.

Charred remains of items at BJP leader and Manipur minister Govindas Konthoujam's residence, which was set on fire by some miscreants, at Ningthoukhong in Bishnupur district, on Monday. (PTI)

The massive security dispatch — which will be in addition to the 40,000 central reinforcement already in the state --- came on a day when the body of a 25-year-old woman was recovered from the Barak River in Assam, marking a grim end to the search for six members of a Meitei family abducted on November 11. Fresh violence late on Sunday also claimed another life when police opened fire on protesters demonstrating against the brutal killings.

“The home minister reviewed the current deployment of central armed paramilitary forces, and the action taken by police and paramilitary forces to quell the violence. The home minister has asked the forces and police to ensure peace and order,” said an official familiar with the discussions at Shah’s residence, where he met senior officials from security forces, home ministry and Intelligence Bureau.

On Monday, fishermen in Lakhipur found the body of Laishram Heitombi Devi, who was the last missing member of the family after five other bodies, including those of two children, were recovered over the past week. Their deaths are one of the central incidents in a cycle of violence and reprisal attacks that have flared up afresh between the Kuki and Meitei communities.

The situation deteriorated further when 20-year-old Khundrakpam Athouba from Sorok Atingbi was killed and another person injured in police firing late on Sunday night during protests against the family’s murders. The incident occurred when hundreds of protesters surrounded the PWD guest house in Jiribam where police officers had taken shelter following demonstrations.

“Security forces were rushed to the PWD guest house at around midnight. After a tense standoff, the police team were rescued by the forces,” a senior government official said, requesting anonymity. The injured protester, K Bishan, 26, sustained a bullet wound to his back and was referred to Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene as the protest escalated. “Several rounds were fired in the air initially to disperse the crowd protesting the deaths of the six individuals,” said a local resident who witnessed the incident but requested anonymity.

“The situation turned violent when protesters stormed the PWD Guest House, demanding an apology from SSP Sanjembam Nectar for the alleged actions against them. Security forces stationed at the guest house then fired several live rounds.” The death of Athouba has further inflamed tensions in Jiribam, where residents have been demanding swift action in the investigation of the family’s murders.

Sanjembam Nectar is the Manipur Senior Superintendent of Police (Combat) and his team reportedly intervened in the protest and fired several rounds into the air to disperse the crowd, which acted as the trigger for the storming.

Nectar, a decorated army officer and a retired colonel, has since been sacked. He was inducted in Manipur police last year, and was known for leading surgical strikes in Myanmar in June 2015 which earned him a Shaurya Chakra and Kirti Chakra.

The rapidly worsening situation prompted Union home minister Shah to chair a second emergency meeting in two days.

A senior government official said the additional forces would be primarily deployed across three hotspots: “Imphal is on alert because of the protest and vandalism at the houses of political leaders. In Churachandpur, there is a coffin rally announced by tribal groups of people who died in the gunfight with security forces. The tribals have termed them as martyrs and are holding a massive rally. Jiribam has been a hotspot for many days.”

The crisis has also drawn in top military leadership, with Lieutenant General Abhijit Pendharkar, GOC of the Army’s Spear Corps, visiting Churachandpur and other locations on Monday. The CRPF director general is already in the state monitoring the situation.

The latest bout of violence began after a Kuki-Hmar woman was allegedly killed in Jiribam on November 7, after which the six Meitei family members were abducted during the Ningol Chakkouba festival.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) separately announced that it has taken over probe into the three major incidents that triggered the recent surge in violence. The cases include the murder of the Hmar woman in Jiribam on November 7, a November 11 incident at Jakuradhor Karong where security forces killed 10 alleged militants, and the subsequent burning of houses and killing of a civilian in the same area.

The ethnic conflict has claimed over 240 lives since May 2023 and displaced more than 60,000 people.

The political crisis deepened on Sunday when the National People’s Party withdrew support from the BJP-led government, though this doesn’t threaten N Biren Singh’s majority

The violence has effectively divided Manipur into two ethnic enclaves – the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley and Kuki-majority hills – despite the presence of buffer zones monitored by security forces. The state remains under indefinite curfew in Imphal valley, with internet services suspended across seven districts.