In Manipur, stressing the urgent need to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents, the prohibitory order banned unauthorised processions or unlawful assemblies of five or more persons
Guwahati/New Delhi: The state administration on Monday imposed prohibitory orders in Churachandpur district of Manipur following tension between communities over the assault of a Hmar leader by unknown miscreants.
Saying that locals demanded the identification of all those involved in assaulting the Hmar tribal leader, security sources said as a precautionary measure the administration has imposed prohibitory orders across the district under Section 163 of BNSS 2023.
The prohibitory orders said: “Whereas reports have been received from the superintendent of police, Churachandpur, indicating a serious apprehension of a breach of law and order in the district, which is likely to disturb peace and tranquility among different communities and may lead to damage to life and public property.”
In New Delhi, meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that the trial of the Manipur ethnic violence cases, probed by the CBI, will be conducted in Guwahati, where it was transferred to earlier. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna also extended till July 31, 2025, the tenure of a committee headed by Justice Gita Mittal, former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high court.
The panel, also comprising former Bombay high court judge Shalini P. Joshi and Asha Menon, former Delhi high court judge, was set up on August 7, 2023 by the top court to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur.
“We clarify that the trial of transferred cases will be held before the courts at Guwahati,” the CJI said.
Keeping in mind the “overall environment in Manipur and the need for ensuring a fair process of criminal justice administration”, the top court had transferred to Assam 27 cases, having various offences, including the sexual assault case of the two women seen in a viral video being paraded naked.
In Manipur, stressing the urgent need to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents, the prohibitory order banned unauthorised processions or unlawful assemblies of five or more persons. It also banned the carrying of arms or instruments that can be used as weapons, including sticks, rods and stones.
According to the police, protesters have been attempting to enforce a shutdown in the town, urging shops to close immediately.
The police said groups of men carrying sticks were also seen patrolling the streets, trying to enforce the shutdown. There have been reports of stone-pelting by mobs in some areas.
It is significant that general secretary of Hmar Inpui Richard Hmar, one of the apex bodies of the tribal groups, was attacked by a group of men inside the V.K. Montessori Complex at Zenhang Lamka around 7.30 pm on Sunday.
The Hmar Inpui, in a statement, condemned the incident and demanded that the perpetrators be handed over immediately and warned that failure to comply would result in it taking "its own course of action”.
