Amit Shah instructs authorities to ensure free movement of people in Manipur from March 8

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday directed security forces to ensure free movement of people on all roads in Manipur from March 8.

Chairing a meeting where the security situation of Manipur was reviewed, the home minister said that strict action should be taken against those creating obstructions on the roads.

This was the first such meeting held after the imposition of the President's rule in the northeastern state, which has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 2023. Over 250 people have lost their lives in the violence.

"The home minister took stock of the security situation in Manipur. A detailed briefing was given on the overall law and order situation in the state," sources said.

Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, top officials of the Manipur government, Army, paramilitary forces attended the meeting.

The President's rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister. The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.

The security review was held after the February 20 ultimatum given by the governor to everyone holding illegal and looted arms to surrender.

During the seven-day period, more than 300 weapons were surrendered by the public, primarily in the valley districts. These include 246 firearms surrendered by Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol.

The governor on Friday extended the deadline for the surrender of looted and illegal arms until 4 pm on March 6 following demands by people from both hill and valley areas for additional time.

Several thousand arms were looted from police in different places in Manipur during the initial phase of the ethnic violence that began about 22 months ago.

Since taking over the charge of governor on January 3, Bhalla has been meeting a cross sections of people, taking feed back from them on how to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state.

He has also chaired several meetings in Manipur where law and order situation on the state was discussed and gave necessary directions to the security forces, officials said.

Bhalla, a former Union home secretary, who had closely worked with Shah for five years till August 2024, was handpicked by the Union home minister himself and said to have given the mandate to bring back normalcy to the restive state.

The violence started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in May 2023.

Permanent peace continues to be elusive in the northeastern state even though there have been efforts from the central government to bring the warring communities into negotiating table.