The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
The MEA said that the AFSPA, under which an area is declared as disturbed for the convenience of security forces to operate, was extended in six Police stations of five districts in Manipur, including Imphal West, Imphal East, Jiribam, Kangpokpi and Bishnupur with immediate effect.
In a notification, the Home Ministry said the decision was taken given the continuous volatile situation there due to the ongoing ethnic violence.
"Whereas the Government of Manipur in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (28 of 1958) had declared the entire State of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the 19 (nineteen) Police Stations listed below as “Disturbed Area” for a period of 6 (six) months with effect from 1st October, 2024," the government notification said.
The police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur.
The order comes days after eleven suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Monday after suspected militants armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent CRPF camp in Manipur's Jiribam district.
Recently, the Manipur government imposed AFSPA in the entire state on October 1, barring 19 police station areas that include these six. The police stations excluded from the Manipur government's October 1 order were Imphal, Lamphal, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakching, Jiribam.