The Manipur government has imposed prohibitory orders in the Imphal East, Imphal West and Thoubal districts amid escalating violence and protests in the state.
The Imphal East district magistrate’s order on Tuesday read: “Due to the developing law and order situation in the district, earlier orders of curfew relaxation stand cancelled with immediate effect from 11 am of September 10.”
A “total curfew” was being imposed in the district with immediate effect until further orders, it said.
A similar order was issued by the district magistrate in Imphal West.
It added: “Restriction on the movement of people outside their respective residences was lifted from September 1 last year.” This has been reinstated.
The order exempted essential services, including media, electricity, court and health, from the purview of the curfew.
In Thoubal, prohibitory orders under Section 163(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had been imposed on Sunday. The order prevented the assembly of five or more persons.
Section 163(2) deals with the powers to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger.
The Manipur government on Tuesday suspended internet services including mobile data and broadband in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching districts till 3 pm on September 15.
Manipur has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 2023. At least 237 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the beginning of the clashes.
On Monday, thousands of students protested in front of the Manipur Secretariat and Raj Bhavan demanding action against those responsible for the recent drone and missile attacks in the state, PTI reported. They also called for the protection of the “territorial and administrative integrity” of Manipur.
The Raj Bhavan is the official residence of the state’s governor.
The Manipur Police said on Monday that several student groups had assembled in front of the Raj Bhavan’s main gate, “violating prohibitory orders issued by district magistrate”.
The police said it had tried to “pacify the agitating students and warned them to disperse”.
The police added: “However, the protest turned violent and provoked the police personnel by pelting stones and throwing plastic bottles of water in front of the main gate of Raj Bhavan. The police party along with CAPF [Central Armed Police Forces] personnel with due orders from the Executive Magistrate used minimum force to disperse the unruly mob.”
This came after an elderly man was killed and six others, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured in a rocket attack by suspected Kuki militants in Bishnupur district on Friday.
On Saturday, at least seven persons were killed in gun violence between Meitei and Kuki groups in a remote area of Manipur’s Jiribam district.
On Sunday, a Central Reserve Police Force camp in the Thangbuh village in the Kangpokpi district was attacked, leading to the death of a woman due to splinter injuries.
At Imphal, protestors associated with the All Manipur Students Union allegedly attacked a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force, PTI reported on Monday.
Later in the day, student representatives met Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Governor Lakshman Acharya.
Following this, they told reporters that six demands had been placed before the governor, including the removal of the director general of police and the security advisor to the state government for their alleged failure to control the violence, according to PTI.
Acharya on Tuesday said that violence was not the solution and appealed to student organisations, leaders and the public to “work together” to establish peace. “Everyone will have to contribute and find ways to overcome this problem,” a statement from the Raj Bhavan quoted him as saying.
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