Houses of CM N Biren Singh, his son-in-law Rajkumar Imo Singh, Sapam Kunjakeswar and Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta came under attack, sources said.
Guwahati: Recovery of six bodies since Friday brought mayhem back to Manipur forcing the administration to re-impose curfew and suspend mobile internet in several districts on Saturday.
As the news about recovery of the bodies, believed to be the Meitei women and children who went missing in Jiribam district on November 11, spread, protesters led by women spilled into the streets of Imphal and elsewhere and started attacking houses of several MLAs.
They burnt tires and blocked the roads alleging that the BJP-led government in the state failed to rescue the six Meitei women and children, who were abducted by the “kuki insurgents.”
Houses of CM N Biren Singh, his son-in-law Rajkumar Imo Singh, Sapam Kunjakeswar and Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta came under attack, sources said.
Police resorted to tear gas firing in order to control the mob. The curfew was clamped from 4.30 pm by the administration until further notice.
Mobile internet and data services were suspended in the Valley’s Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kakching and Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts. Curfew was earlier clamped and mobile internet remained suspended for weeks after the Meitei-Kuki clash started in May last year.
The bodies of a woman and two children were found in a river in Jiribam on Friday while the remaining three were recovered on Saturday. Police officials said the bodies are suspected to be those of the missing persons but refused to confirm till arrival of the post-mortem reports.
The six went missing during a gunfight between the CRPF and Manipur police that took place after “armed militants” (allegedly belonging to Kuki-Zo) attacked a CRPF camp and a police station, where displaced Meitei persons were provided shelters.
Claim of Kukis
Kuki-Zo organisations, on the other hand, claimed that those killed were not militants but “village volunteers” belonging to the Hmar community, who were “defending” their villages against possible attacks by the Meiteis.
They said that the “village volunteers” gathered following information about entry of armed men belonging to Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei radical group, into the police station but they were gunned down by the CRPF and Manipur police. Hmars are part of the greater Kuki-Zo communities.