BJP flag.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Guwahati: The administration in Manipur's Thoubal district on Monday issued prohibitory orders after a mob burnt down the house of a Muslim BJP leader following his social media post supporting the recent amendments in the Waqf Act.
Thoubal district magistrate A Subhash Singh said a mob of 7,000 to 8,000 people armed with sticks and stones stormed the house of Askar Ali, the president of the minority morcha of BJP in Manipur, on Sunday evening, at Lilong Sambrukhong Mamei, a Muslim-dominated area.
Police said the tension was brewing in the area since Saturday after Ali reportedly praised the Narendra Modi government for amending the Waqf Act. Fearing a threat to his life, Ali issued an apology on social media for his post but that did not pacify the angry residents from attacking his house hours later.
"The matter is very sensitive in and around Lilong Assembly constituency and there is likelihood of further disturbance, which poses as risk to peace and public tranquility," Thoubal district magistrate A Subhash Singh said in a notification issued on Monday morning while clamping prohibition on assembly of more than four persons, under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Lilong is a Muslim-dominated Assembly constituency and anger was palpable in the area over the amendments in the Waqf Act.
Manipur has been under the President's rule since February 13 in view of the ongoing conflict involving the Meitei and the Kuki communities since May 2023.