Violence-Hit Manipur Limping Back To Normalcy, 14 Units Of Indian Army Still On Guard

Manipur Violence: The Central government has deployed more forces to control the situation and senior officers are monitoring the operations.

The Central government has deployed more forces to control the situation in Manipur.

Source : Pallav Bora

The Indian Army on Friday said the overall situation in violence-hit Manipur was now under control after the northeastern state was rocked by clashes for the past two days following a 'Tribal Solidarity March' called by the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM).

Police said 14 units of the Indian Army are still deployed to check any untoward incident and urged the people to remain in their houses till normalcy was restored.

Manipur Director General of Police P Doungel told the media on Friday that more forces were sent by the Centre and that has helped in quelling the violence.

"The main thing that we have done after Thursday is issuing these orders of imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Since the Indian Army is conducting flag marches, they do not deal with the people in a way the police deals. So, that has really helped because their uniform is different, the way they move about in public is different, the way they talk to a person is different, so all these have gone a long way to quell the violence. The Centre has sent in more forces which we are being deployed as they land. All these activities have led to the improvement of the situation."

"A total of 14 units of the Indian Army have been deployed till now. We appeal to all the public to stay calm in their houses until the situation improves," DGP Doungel further said.

Several houses, places of worship and vehicles were either vandalised or torched across five districts (Source: Pallav Bora)

As violence broke out on Wednesday, several houses, places of worship and vehicles were either vandalised or torched across five districts - Imphal, Churachandpur, Bishnupur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal.

The solidarity march was organised to oppose the longstanding demand that the Meitei community be included in the list of the state’s Scheduled Tribes (ST). On April 19, the Manipur High Court asked the government to consider the demand of Meitei community.

On Wednesday, the Manipur High Court issued notices to the chairman of the Hill Areas Committee and the president of ATSUM, directing them to appear before it for criticising and instigating people against its April 19 judgement.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army and troopers of the Assam Rifles started conducting flag marches from Thursday after the situation turned worse with a rising number of incidents of violence.

In view of the prevailing tension, Governor Anusuiya Uikey authorised all the District Magistrates, Deputy Commissioners and executive magistrates to issue shoot-at-sight orders in extreme cases.

As shops and public transport remained shut, long queues could be seen in the petrol depots (Source: Pallav Bora)

On Friday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) undertook continuous sorties from two airfields in Assam employing C-17 Globemaster and AN-32 aircrafts.

Meanwhile, evacuation of stranded civilians belonging to all communities from affected areas continued throughout the night. At least 11,000 people have been evacuated till now and efforts are still underway to evacuate the rest.

Talking over phone, Glady, a resident of one of the worst-hit Churachandpur district, told ABP Live, "My sister, along with her minor son, was on her way from Shillong to Churachandpur which is her hometown. But due to the curfew, they got stranded somewhere in Imphal, and as she does not know anyone there, they have been taking shelter at the house of a local. We have been exploring all possible ways to bring them back home but till now we haven’t been able to do anything."

As shops and public transport remained shut, long queues could be seen in the petrol depots.

"We are facing a lot of problems due to the curfew. We are not getting our daily requirement as the shops are closed. Schools and colleges have also been closed and public transport could hardly be seen on the roads. I feel that the authorities should act seriously so that normalcy returns soon," Arena, a college student, told ABP Live over phone from Imphal.

As of now, there is an improvement in the overall situation. The Central government has deployed more forces to control the situation and senior officers are monitoring the operations.

Flag marches in the worst-affected Churachandpur, Bishnupur and other sensitive districts are still underway.

Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railways (NF Railway) has suspended all train operations across Manipur for the next 48 hours due to the prevailing situation.

On the other hand, several neighbouring states, including Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have offered their support to the Manipur government amid the crisis.