Guwahati: The Manipur government has ordered the suspension of mobile internet services for five more days in the wake of fresh violence in the Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts. On Wednesday, violence broke out and tension escalated during a rally organized by the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM). The silent rally by ATSUM, protesting against the inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, all of a sudden turned ugly. The security forces toiled hard to bring the situation under control but not before some of the protestors sustained serious injuries.
Heavy security has been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incidents. According to a statement issued by P Doungel, the Director General of Police (DGP), Manipur, "The situation is still tense and volatile in the hill districts of Bishnupur and Churachandpur. Some anti-social elements are using social media extensively for circulating images, hate speech and hate video messages inciting the passions of the public. Social media has become a handy tool for rumour-mongers and is being used to incite the general public which might have serious repercussions for the law and order situation in the state.”
“There is an imminent danger of loss of life or damage to public and private property, and widespread disturbances to public tranquility and communal harmony, as a result of inflammatory material and false rumors, which are being circulated to the public through the social media, especially messaging services on mobile phone services, Short Message Service (SMS) services, and dongle services," the top official said.
“To thwart the design and activities of anti-national and anti-social elements and to maintain peace and communal harmony and to prevent any loss of life or danger to the public and private property, it has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order in public interest, by stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumors, through various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter on mobile phone and SMS for facilitating and mobilization of mobs of agitators and demonstrators, which can cause loss of life and cause damage to public and private property by indulging in arson, vandalism and other types of violent activities," DGP Doungel added.
He said the order has been issued to prevent any disturbances of peace and public order in Manipur and shall be in force for the next five days with immediate effect from the time this suspension order becomes operational. Any person found guilty for violation of aforesaid orders will be liable for legal action, DGP said.
On the other hand, in view of the prevailing law and order situation in the Bishnupur district, the Deputy Commissioner of the violence-torn district has passed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), to prevent any breach of peace, disturbance to public tranquility and danger to human life and property,
The prohibitory order signed by Bishnupur Deputy Commissioner Lourembam Bikram read, “With this, the Bishnupur district administration has termed assembly of five or more persons unlawful in the area. Moreover, carrying sticks, stones, firearms and weapons of any description or objects which can be used as offensive weapons have been prohibited as a preventive measure that is likely to prevent a breach of peace, disturbance to public tranquility and grave danger to human lives and properties.”
Trouble started brewing in the state on April 27, 2023, after incidents of violence, including vandalizing of government properties, arson and subsequently setting the venue, where Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh was scheduled to inaugurate a facility, was reported after agitated crowds, led by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum, who objected to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government's survey of reserved and protected forest areas besides the wetlands in the state, went on a rampage.
Meanwhile, the Manipur police have claimed that the Myanmarese nationals, who have illegally entered the state, were also involved in the arson. Moreover, the forum has accused the state government of having demolished a few churches in the state.
The forum stated in a statement that it has been compelled to carry out a non-cooperation movement against the state government so it has started to obstruct the official programs. On the other hand, the Kuki Students' Organisation also lent its support to the forum accusing the Manipur government of showing a stepmotherly attitude to the tribal population of the state. The state government earlier this month had reportedly demolished three churches in Manipur stating that those were “illegally constructed.”
After Thursday’s incident of violence, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had to cancel his visit to Churachandpur district on Friday. Now, the tribal people have launched fresh protests against the state government’s action against the illegal poppy cultivators and destroying poppy fields in the forest land, especially in reserve and protected forests in the hilly areas.