Violence Kills 142 in India's Manipur State: local gov't

NEW DELHI, June 11: The violence in India's northeastern state of Manipur has killed 142 people over the past two months, the local government said on Monday.

The information was presented by Manipur's chief secretary to India's Supreme Court in a report mentioning a total of 142 people have been killed in the violence-hit state. It said 5,000 incidents of arson have taken place in the state since May, and Imphal East and Imphal West districts have reported the maximum number of deaths.

It further said 5,995 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed and 6,745 people taken into custody to keep the situation under control in the state.

The local government also listed the steps it has taken to maintain law and order in the state, citing 124 companies of paramilitary forces and 184 Indian army columns remaining on the ground to maintain peace.

The northeastern state is on edge since May 3 when large-scale violence broke out during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meitei community for a scheduled tribe status, designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups, which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.

Authorities responded by imposing a curfew and putting a blanket ban on internet services as a precautionary measure to restrict the mobilization of crowds in the state. The ethnic clashes have also injured over 3,000 and displaced 60,000 others.

Mobs have been resorting to vandalism and arson during which hundreds of houses and shops were gutted in the state.

So far efforts by the federal government to restore peace in Manipur have not yielded desired results.

One person was killed and two others were injured on Monday in fresh violent clashes in the state, local media reported.

(RSS/Xinhua)