Opposition parties are calling for central rule in Manipur, saying the situation in the state is alarming and accusing both state and non-state actors of unleashing terror.
"The only solution is President's rule. There is total anarchy. Security forces kill innocents and claim these are encounter deaths while militancy is on the rise," said H Borbabu, president of the Manipur unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. "The state government has totally failed."
A BJP delegation this week met Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi to brief him about the law and order situation in the state. "The minister expressed concern over the situation," the BJP leader told IANS.
While the Congress government is under pressure over a series of killings blamed on allegedly fake gun battles, separatist groups are also causing havoc.
On Tuesday midnight, about 200 militants in eight trucks descended upon village Nongpok Sekmai in Thoubal district and used a hijacked excavator to pull down a government hospital.
Capital punishment meted out by militant groups in Manipur has now become almost routine - from drug peddlers to alleged corrupt officials, the rebels spare none.
"It is a totally lawless state. Nobody knows who is in control of Manipur. The government has become ineffective," Pradip Phanjoubam, editor of Imphal Free Press, a mass circulated English daily, told IANS.
Former chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Radhabinod Koijam added: "It is true there is no administration at all. Manipur has become a free for all type of a situation."
{{/usCountry}}Former chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Radhabinod Koijam added: "It is true there is no administration at all. Manipur has become a free for all type of a situation."
{{/usCountry}}But Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh is unfazed.
The chief minister was not available for comments. Other ministers and lawmakers refused to speak on record about the prevailing situation in the state.
"The situation is chaotic to say the least," said Moni Singh, a rights leader.
There are about 20 militant groups in Manipur, their demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Manipur in the past two decades.