Internet services were shut in five Manipur districts as protests escalated into violence, prompting curfews and school closures amid ethnic tensions.
Internet services were on Tuesday snapped in five districts of Manipur and strict prohibitory orders were imposed in three districts as protesters as security forces clashed across the strife-torn state, where violence has ratcheted up and shattered the fragile calm over the past 10 days.
Data services, including cellular and broadband, will be cut off in five districts till Saturday, the state home department said in an order, even as the administrations of Imphal East, Imphal West and Thoubal imposed indefinite curfews after agitations in the districts turned violent.
The law-and-order downturn also prompted the state government to order schools and colleges to stay shut till Thursday.
Thousands of students took part in agitations throughout Manipur, with much of the protests focussed in the capital Imphal, where 40 people were injured when they faced-off with security forces while marching towards Raj Bhavan, demanding the dismissal of the director general of police and security adviser over the recent spate of drone and missile attacks.
Police officers pinned the violence on misinformation, and said the protesters pelted them with stones and marble balls, forcing them to fire tear gas and charge the crowds. Protesters, however, said they threw stones because police “injured peaceful protesters” and stopped them from meeting the governor.
“Some miscreants on social media circulated fake news that a woman protester died in firing during the protest… The violence was also exacerbated by another piece of fake news that a student was killed. We later came to know that a protester, possibly a student, fell off the flyover. He was injured,” said an officer of the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
Clashes in the conflict-ridden state have dialled up significantly this month, with militants turning to modern weaponry like drones and rockets, adding a fresh layer of violence to the ongoing use of rifles and grenades.
Ten people have died since September 1, of whom one was killed in a drone attack and another by a rocket. A former army soldier was also stabbed and beaten to death.
The Centre has formed a committee of top officers from the police, army and paramilitary forces to examine the use of explosive-bearing drones. The committee is now preparing a report that it will submit by September 13.
However, protesters have since then made a string of demands, arguing that the security apparatus positioned in the state has failed to placate tensions and weed out militants. Several people, including the Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister N Biren Singh, have demanded that the unified command, a group of 12 senior security officials, be disbanded and the state’s security be handed back to the local administration.
The unified command, from various government agencies, was formally formed on May 31, 2023 to restore normalcy in the state, formulate counter-insurgency strategies, maintain law and order, and ensure the safety of communities in Manipur, where Kuki groups have accused the state police of siding with the Meiteis. Retired Indian Police Services (IP) officer Kuldiep Singh, appointed by the Centre, heads the unified command.
On Tuesday, thousands of students in uniform thronged streets across the besieged state, calling for an end to violence. Protesters said they were not affiliated with a political group and were leaderless.
“Students are fed up with the government’s handling of the situation. Our college is shut but we still came in our uniforms because we want everyone to see how the government has failed in Manipur. We want action by the Centre and the state government on the ground,” said one protester in Imphal.
However, as agitators tried to march from various parts of Imphal towards the governor’s official residence, security forces near the iconic Kangla Fort fired teargas shells to stop them in their tracks.
Between 2pm and 6pm, at the road connecting Ima Market with the Kangla Fort, around 100m away from Raj Bhavan, forces repeatedly lobbed teargas shells to stop protesters from moving ahead.