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A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by MK Venu, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Tanweer Alam, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK 

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Snapshot of the day

November 18, 2024

Sidharth Bhatia

A man in his twenties was killed in firing late yesterday in Manipur’s Jiribam during a clash between security forces and a mob vandalising properties in protest of the alleged abductions of six people from the district last week, PTI cites the state police as saying. By some estimates, at least 20 people have been killed since a flare-up of violence in the state since November 7.

The news agency also cites official sources as saying that the National Investigation Agency has filed three FIRs in relation to the spike in violence in Jiribam. Originally filed by the Manipur police, the cases reportedly deal with attacks by suspected militants on a woman the week before last, on a police station and a CRPF post last Monday, and on civilians last Monday. And the Union home ministry has reportedly sent an additional 50 Central Armed Police Force companies – just days after it dispatched 20 companies – to the state in light of the volatile situation.

Holding that N Biren Singh’s government in Manipur has “completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy” in the state and that its people “are going through immense suffering”, the National People’s Party withdrew its support for the BJP from the assembly, party president and Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma said yesterday. That means the seven NPP MLAs of the state – the BJP’s second-largest allies here – will probably not participate in a meeting of ruling party and allied legislators Singh will reportedly hold at the secretariat in Imphal this evening.

Singh’s private residence on the outskirts of Imphal was among the properties of several Manipur legislators that mobs attacked on Saturday in protest of the alleged abductions in Jiribam – Vijaita Singh and Rahul Karmakar note that tensions over three bodies being reportedly discovered worsened after unconfirmed news arrived of the discovery of three more. Authorities implemented a curfew in five valley districts as well as internet curbs in these districts and in two hill districts. Meanwhile, the state cabinet requested the Union home ministry to “review and withdraw” its order declaring six police station jurisdictions in the Imphal valley and Jiribam as “disturbed areas” under AFSPA. It merely cited “public interest” as reason for its request.

Reports vary on how many of those who were allegedly abducted in Jiribam last week have been found dead, but PTI reports today that the bodies of five of them were found floating in the Jiri river as well the nearby Barak river in Assam over the last few days – their post-mortem exam has been completed in a state-run hospital in Assam’s Cachar, which borders Jiribam, sources say. The bodies of the ten suspected militants who were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jiribam on the same day the alleged abductions took place were also airlifted to Churachandpur on Saturday.

“565 days of ceaseless strife. Hundreds killed. Many thousands displaced. But, patience — the home minister may take some additional steps. If Amit Shah is not the most incompetent home minister in this country’s history, I’d like to see your nominations.” Prem Panicker writes. 

The crisis in Manipur persists, more than one and a half years of conflict, the struggle for dignity and survival continues. Watch this video from Samdish Bhatia: 

 

Prime minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three nation tour, has still not uttered a word about the violence in Manipur, much less visited it. However, there was a time he had thundered on what was called Twitter, that those who “cannot ensure peace in Manipur have no right to govern”, except that it was in 2017, when another government was in power.

(Credit: Sajith Kumar in Deccan Herald)