Manipur: House set on fire; forces prevent attempt to attack BJP leaders' homes in Imphal

Automatic gunfire was reported from Kwakta in the Bishnupur district of Manipur and Kangvai in the Churachandpur district

An abandoned house and some vehicles were set on fire in Imphal East and Kakching districts respectively while mobs tried to attack the houses of two senior leaders of ruling BJP at Imphal on Friday night as situation in the violence-hit Manipur reamined grim.

Sources in the army said personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the army fired tear gas shells and stopped mobs who gathered in front of the residences of Sharda Devi, the president of Manipur unit of BJP and Thongam Biswajit Singh, a senior minister. "There were inputs that the mob was planning to set their houses on fire the way the house of Union Minister Ranjan Singh was attacked on Thursday night," a source said.

There were also reports about firing by unidentified persons in Churachandpur and Bishnupur district during combing operations by the army and other security forces. A mob of around 300 persons tried to vandalise the Iringbam police station in Imphal West district but the crowd was dispersed by the security forces.

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The administration in the Meitei-dominated Imphal East and Imphal West districts sounded an alert based on intelligence inputs about the possibility of violence during the 'Great Meitei Uprising Day' to be observed on Sunday. The 'Great Meitei Uprising Day' is observed on June 18 every year (since 2001) in order to mourn the death of 18 Meiteis during an agitation against the demand for bifurcation of some areas of Manipur for inclusion in 'Greater Nagalim' demanded by the Naga groups.

The situation in the Imphal East and Imphal West districts turned tense after the killing of nine Meitei persons during an attack in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on June 13 night. Ten others were injured in the attack. Kuki groups said that the nine had gone to the Kuki-dominated villages for arson and they died in retaliatory attack by "village volunteers."

The incident, however, left the Meitei organisations angry over the government's role and they started attacking the houses of Ministers and MLAs in the state capital Imphal. The house of Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki Minister were set on fire on Wednesday and Thursday night. Following the attack on his house on Thursday night, Ranjan Singh, a BJP Lok Sabha member from Manipur said that the state government run by his own party failed to maintain law and order in the state.
Meitei groups have been demanding abrogation of the Suspension of Operation Agreement with the Kuki insurgent groups.

Over 100 people, belonging to both Kuki and Meitei communities, have been killed and over 50,000 others have been rendered homeless since clashes started on May 3. The violence started over the demand for ST status for the majority Meitei community.

The sporadic incidents of violence have continued despite deployment of nearly 40,000 security forces including the Army and curfew in several parts of the state.