Manipur Suspends Internet; CRPF to Deploy 2 Battalions
There will be no Internet suspension in the state’s hilly regions
Guwahati: In view of the escalating protests by students backed by civil society groups, the Manipur government on Tuesday imposed a temporary internet ban in five Valley districts of the state, covering mobiles, broadband and VPNs, and clamped curfews in three districts to prevent people from coming outside their homes. There will be no Internet suspension in the state’s hilly regions.
Hundreds of students from various schools and colleges spent the night at a makeshift camp set up at Khwairamband Women’s Market in Imphal. Student leader Ch Victor Singh told reporters: “We have given a 24-hour deadline for Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya’s response to the six demands we have placed. We will decide our future course of action after the deadline ends.”
Meanwhile, the Centre directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deploy two additional battalions comprising about 2,000 personnel for security duties in the ethnic strife-torn state.
The 58 Battalion will be moved from Warangal in Telangana, have its headquarter in Kangvai in Churachandpur, while the 112 Battalion which had been pulling out from Latehar in Jharkhand will be stationed around Imphal, the official sources said.
The government move came after the withdrawal of two Assam Rifles battalions from Manipur for operational duties in Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the Northeast, the officials said.