Amit Shah speaks to Manipur CM Biren Singh over violence in State

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and took stock of the situation in the State where law and order was disrupted after tribal groups took out rallies in several districts, sources said on Thursday.

In the telephonic conversation with Manipur Chief Minister, the union home minister was apprised of the present situation and the steps being taken by the State government to control it, sources said.

Sources said that the situation is being closely monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As per the sources, a few companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been dispatched tp the northeastern State, however an adequate number of Army, Assam Rifles and other Central Armed Police Forces are deployed in the violence-hit areas to control the situation. The RAF is a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deal with riot and crowd control situations.

To tackle the worsening law and order situation after tribal groups took out rallies in several districts of Manipur, the State government has suspended mobile internet in the State for five days. Along with a ban on large gatherings, a night curfew too has been imposed in several districts of the State.

In view of the situation, a curfew has been imposed in non-tribal-dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur districts, and tribal-dominated Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, and Tengnoupal districts.

The Manipur government issued a statement stating, "Internet services suspended in Manipur for five days amid incidents of fighting among youths, and volunteers of different communities as a rally was organised by All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Manipur in protest against the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST category."

As far as the current situation is concerned, two issues in the State have led to the situation. First, chief minister Biren Singh's move to protect the forest faces resistance from illegal Immigrants and drug cartels, and the second is linked to the Manipur High Court's recent direction to the State Government to consider the inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe category which has led to an outburst from the tribal community who are ST.

Violence broke out during the 'Tribal Solidarity March' called by the All-Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Thousands of tribals -- who make up about 40 per cent of the state's population -- joined the processions, waved placards and raised slogans opposing ST status for the Meitei.