New Delhi: An irate mob set afire a local party office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Thoubal district of Manipur as fresh protests sparked by the abduction and killing of two students escalated on Wednesday.
Visuals doing the rounds on social media showed a BJP mandal office in Thoubal district engulfed in flames. In the video, flames are seen emanating from the roof of the two-storey building along with large plumes of black smoke while some miscreants can be heard clapping and cheering the wanton destruction.
Unidentified persons were also seen throwing stones at the building in the later part of the video even as the flames seemed to have been doused.
According to reports, a violent mob set ablaze the BJP office on Wednesday and also vandalised the premises. They said that the mob also destroyed the gate of the building, smashed windows, and also ravaged a vehicle parked within the premises.
Fresh protests
On Tuesday, massive protests by student groups erupted in Manipur capital Imphal against the kidnapping and killing of two students. The protests were triggered after visuals of the slain students’ bodies surfaced on social media platforms.
At least 46 protesters sustained injuries as the protesting students clashed with the police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel on Tuesday. Reports said the protesters blocked the Indo-Myanmar highway with wooden logs and felled electricity poles and also burned tyres on the roads.
Police and other law enforcement agencies responded by firing live bullets and tear smoke shells to disperse the raging protesters who resorted to stone throwing as the protests turned violent.
AFSPA extended
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Manipur government declared the entire northeastern state as a ‘Disturbed Area’ barring areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 specific police stations even as the stringent Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was extended for 6 more months.
“Governor of Manipur hereby accords approval to declare the entire state of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 police stations…as ‘Disturbed Area’ for a period of six months with effect from October 1, 2023,” an official notification issued today stated.
19 Police Stations exempted
The 19 police stations mainly comprising areas in the Imphal valley have been kept out of the purview of the Disturbed Areas Act, These are Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Pastol, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingagng, Lamlai, Iribung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakchin and Jirbam.
As per the notification the “violent activities of various extremist/insurgent groups warrant the use of the Armed Forces in aid of civil administration in the entire state of Manipur and in view of the overall law and order situation in the state and the capability of the state machinery, the state government has decided to maintain the status quo on the present disturbed area status.”
The Manipur violence
More than 175 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
(With PTI inputs)
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