Mirabai Chanu, other star athletes warn they'll return medals if peace not restored in Manipur

Several star athletes from Manipur including Olympic medalist Mirabai Chanu, in a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, warned they would return their medals if peace and normalcy are not restored immediately in the trouble-torn state.

Those who signed the memorandum include boxer L Sarita Devi, Padma Awardee weightlifter Kunjarani Devi, and former Indian women football captain Oinam Bembem Devi. Most of the athletes belong to the Meitei community.

The athletes sought steps for clearing the blockade on NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) that has severely impacted the transportation of commodities to Manipur. They said prices of essential commodities have shot up due to the blockade on the highway.

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The warning was issued when Shah was on a three-day visit to Manipur, which has remained in turmoil for the past 27 days. The Home Minister held meetings with leaders of both Meitei and Kuki communities, political parties and others as part of the Centre's efforts to restore peace.

At least 74 people have died while 35,000 others displaced since May 3 when the riot broke out between sections of the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis over the former's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

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Army and other central security forces controlled the riots but sporadic violence since then has kept the state tense.

Curfew is in force in several parts of Manipur while the mobile and broadband internet services have been kept suspended by the state government since May 3. The NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) has remained blocked by Kuki protesters since then.