Curfew imposed in strife-hit Manipur as Modi govt fails to curb violence
New Delhi: India imposed a curfew in the capital and some areas of its restive state of Manipur on Thursday, after scores of students were injured in violence following protests against the alleged abduction and murder of two students, authorities said.
Ethnic violence has plunged the northeastern state bordering Myanmar into what many security experts describe as an intense civil war fought over land, jobs and political clout between its two largest local groups.
“Indefinite curfew had to be implemented in Imphal and in some other districts,” L. Kailun, a senior police official based in the state capital, told the media.
More than 80 students were injured in Wednesday’s clashes, another police official said on condition of anonymity.
He added that the situation was “extremely tense” after armed mobs vandalised an office of the ruling political party and hurled petrol bombs at two police sites.
Mobile internet services have been suspended in the state for five days, officials said.
Since the violence first erupted on May 3, more than 180 people have been killed and over 50,000 have fled their homes in Manipur.
More than half the state’s population of 3.2 million belongs to the Meitei community, while the Kuki community, which makes up about 43 per cent, lives mostly in the hills. KMS—18A
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