New Delhi: Manipur is witnessing widespread disruption, with normal life severely crippled across several hill and valley districts, following protests and twin shutdowns sparked by two suspected militant attacks earlier this month.
The first incident took place on April 7 in which two children were killed in a bomb attack in Bishnupur’s Tronglaobi. On April 18, in another incident, a retired Army man was killed in an ambush allegedly by Kuki militants near Litan village.
What was the trigger
On April 7, A five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district while they were sleeping, while their mother suffered serious injuries in the incident. After the incident, protests started on April 11 and have been going since then.
Three protesters died after Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel opened fire in Gelmol village of Churachandpur, a Kuki-Zo-dominated district. On April 7, the government slapped a three-day internet suspension, citing a “volatile law and order situation”. On Saturday, the ban was lifted.
On Saturday, the protesters confronted the security forces at a torch rally in Manipur’s Thangmeiband region in Imphal. Six people, including three CRPF personnel, were injured in the clashes.
Protesters were stopped from heading towards Khwairamband Ima market, which resulted in a violent confrontation in West Imphal’s Thangmeiband, Sagolband and Uripok areas.
Following the clashes, several civil society groups, including the Meira Paibis, called for a five-day total shutdown beginning from Sunday midnight.
Total shutdown
The total shutdown resulted in the closure of several marketplaces, while educational institutions remained closed and public transport didn’t operate across all five valley districts.
Sit-in demonstrations were held across the Imphal Valley, including the Uripok and Nagaram localities. The protesters denounced the killings on April 7.
The United Naga Council called for a separate shutdown from Monday to protest the killing of the retired Army man on April 18.