Top Manipur updates: Opposition MPs hold overnight protest in Parliament demanding Modi’s statement
A look at the important developments from the violence-torn northeastern state.
- Several Opposition MPs held an overnight protest in the Parliament complex on Monday demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House on the ethnic violence in Manipur. The MPs were also protesting the suspension of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh for the rest of the Monsoon Session. Singh was suspended for “unruly behaviour” by Rajya Sabha Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday.
- The Manipur government has asked the Assam Rifles to submit a detailed report after the paramilitary force said that 718 Myanmar citizens entered India on July 22 and July 23 through Chandel district in Manipur. The state government alleged that they were allowed to enter without proper documentation. “The state government views the fresh illegal entry of 718 refugees very seriously with utmost sensitivity as the same may have international ramifications more particularly in view of the ongoing law and order issues,” the government said in a statement.
- A 21-year-old student from Churachandpur district, who was in police custody, was killed by a mob on May 4, The Indian Express reported, citing a first information report. Hanglalmuan Vaiphei had been detained on April 30 for sharing a social media post critical of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. On May 4, he was produced before a magistrate court, but was killed by a mob while being taken back to jail. The armed mob robbed the police of their weapons and lynched Vaiphei as the police “escaped in different directions to save themselves,” reported The Hindu.
- The Manipur Police on Monday arrested the seventh accused in the case of the sexual assault of three Kuki women on May 4. The accused was arrested from Thoubal district on Monday, according to NDTV. The police had filed a first information report on May 18 in the case, but the first arrest was made only last week after the video was widely shared on social media. Over 13,000 persons in preventive custody in Manipur over the past two weeks to rein in the ethnic violence between Kuki and Meitei communities that has been raging since early May. More than 150 persons have been killed and over 60,000 displaced in the violence.
- In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress said that it will move a motion in the Assembly to discuss and condemn the ethnic violence in Manipur, PTI reported. The party said that the decision was taken at an all-party meeting, which the Bharatiya Janata Party had boycotted. “The date and under which rule the discussion will be held is yet to be decided,” Trinamool Congress Chief Whip Nirmal Ghosh told PTI.
- The Manipur Police on Monday said that a video showing the killing of a woman by armed men in Myanmar is being falsely shared as incident that happened in the state, according to NDTV. The police said that the video was being circulated to incite rioting and efforts are on to arrest those who are spreading the fake news. A first information report has also been registered in the matter.