Rajkumar Ranjan's house set on fire in Manipur

NEW DELHI/ GUWAHATI/IMPHAL: A day after the killing of nine youths in a single incident and torching the private residence of Union minister of state for external affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Thursday, the Centre has rushed the CRPF D-G S.L. Thaosen to Manipur to assess the situation and for better mobilisation and coordination of Central forces.

Besides, additional troops are being deployed to enhance area domination in fringe areas and the higher reaches of the strife-torn state, sources said on Friday.

The minister, who was in Kerala on Thursday, told reporters, "I am currently in Kerala for official work. Thankfully, nobody got injured last night at my Imphal home. The miscreants came with petrol bombs and damage has been done to the ground floor and first floor of my home."

He appealed to the people, saying, "It is very sad to see what is happening in my home state. I will still continue to appeal for peace. Those indulging in this kind of violence are absolutely inhuman."

According to sources, the Centre is making all-out efforts to bring back normalcy in Manipur through a number of initiatives that include enhanced area domination in fringe areas and higher reaches by security forces, mobilisation of additional troops and close monitoring by senior officials.

The Central government's latest Manipur move comes after the killing of nine youths in a single incident and torching the private residence of the Union minister’s house.

At present, around 30,000 central security personnel are deployed in Manipur for law-and-order duties, besides state police forces. The forces include around eight battalions of Central paramilitary forces, 80 columns of the Army and 67 columns of the Assam Rifles.

The Army's Dimapur-based 3 Corps said enhanced area domination operations by the Army and the Assam Rifles are being undertaken in the aftermath of recent spurt in violence. The domination of fringe areas and higher reaches is underway by long-duration, self-contained columns, it said.

On Friday evening, the CRPF D-G met governor Anusuiya Uikey and apprised her of the present situation. He also held closed-door meetings with local commanders so that further coordination among security forces could be ensured for effective results.

Top officials of the Central government are also closely monitoring the situation and giving regular directions so that normalcy is brought back as soon as possible, the sources added.

Meanwhile, supplies of essential items, including baby food and medicines and the movement of security forces have been affected in several areas of Manipur because of blockades of both the national highway leading to the state by the tribals as well as at least six arterial roads by women-led vigilante groups.
Sources added that in the past week, about 4,000 trucks carrying essential supplies reached the valley via NH-37, which is the only road that is open for now. The blocking of key roads in several areas, from the valley to the hill districts in the south, has become a new challenge for the Assam Rifles and the Army, a source said on Friday.

The local people of the state were unhappy with the elected representatives, as they were not taking steps to solve the present crisis in Manipur.
In another incident on Thursday afternoon, armed Kuki militants attacked the villagers of Phoubakchao in Bishnupur district. The police said that a man and a woman were injured. The police commandos and the village protection volunteers retaliated. Tear gas shells and mock bombs were fired to disperse the stone-pelting people. Some youths had also attacked the RAF personnel using slingshots. Some women were reportedly injured in the clashes.

The Central government has taken many steps to restore normalcy soon after the visit of Union home minister Amit Shah for four days last month, who met a cross section of people in his efforts to bring back peace in the northeastern state. These include the announcement of the special relief package of Rs101.75 crores, the setting of the Commission of Inquiry headed by former Gauhati High Court chief justice Ajai Lamba to probe the incidents of violence and a peace committee under the chairmanship of the governor.