Imphal:Violence continues unabated in Manipur where an army jawan was injured after armed miscreants opened fire at him in Kanto Sabal near Chingmang village on the intervening night of June 18 and 19.
In a tweet, an official of the Spear Corps division of the Army said on Monday that the condition of the injured jawan, who was taken to the military hospital in Limakhong, is stable now. The official further said that armed miscreants fired at the army patrolling team without any provocation in Kanto Sabal near Chingmang village. In view of the presence of villagers in the area, army units carried out controlled retaliatory firing. During this, an army soldier was injured due to firing. He also said that additional security forces have been deployed in the area. At present, a joint operation is in progress.
The Indian Army on Sunday conducted a flag march in the violence-hit areas of Imphal Valley. Imphal East district authorities on Saturday decided to relax the curfew from 5 am to 5 pm on Sunday to facilitate the general public to purchase essential commodities including medicines and food items. In this regard, Imphal East District Magistrate Khumanthem Diana Devi has also issued an order.
The areas where the curfew will be relaxed include Hatta crossing to RDS crossing, Imphal river Sanzenthong to Minuthong, Minuthong to Hatta crossing and RDS crossing to Sanzenthong. On May 3, Section 144 was imposed in Manipur following clashes between the Kuki and Meitei groups. In the violence that followed, more than 100 people lost their lives and thousands were displaced.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Manipur's Thongju was vandalised by a mob on Friday last week, officials said. On Wednesday, nine people were killed, while more than 10 were injured in fresh violence. The state government has further extended the internet shutdown in the state till June 20. On Wednesday, miscreants tried to burn down the official residence of Manipur minister Nemcha Kipjen in Imphal West. His house was partially burnt. Violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May after clashes broke out during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students' Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for inclusion of Meites in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
