After a week of violent protests and tragic deaths in troubled Manipur, the last rites of nine people including three women and three children who went missing were held in Jiribam district on Friday.
The disposed bodies of the women and children were found in the rivers near Jiribam-Assam border and they were handed over to the state after an autopsy was conducted in Assam hospital.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh spoke about the protests in the state including the attacks on the houses of MLAs and ministers of his state and condemning those, he claimed that some 'politically motivated' gangs must have taken advantage of the situation to harass the legislators.
Manipur Security Advisor on Friday revealed that according to official data 258 people died due to the ethnic clashes in Manipur that began in May, 2023.
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Last Rites Of 9 Persons Held In Jiribam
The last rites of the nine persons, including three women and three children who went missing after the gunfight in Jiribam, belonging to the Meitei community were held amid tight security in the troubled district on Friday.
The other three bodies were of two elderly men whose charred bodies were found in the burnt debris of torched houses and shops at the nearby Jakuradhor market, a day after the November 11 attack in Jiribam. And the other body belonged to a protester who died allegedly after security personnel opened fire at a crowd on the night of November 17.
The bodies were brought to Jiribam from the nearby Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam's Cachar district with hundreds of people lining the two sides of the road to pay their tributes.
The bodies were taken to the SMCH for post-mortem examinations. They were brought back after the Joint Action Committee, formed in response to the killing of these nine people, relented as the state government referred the case to the NIA for investigation.
Initially, the Joint Action Committee decided against bringing the bodies for last rites until the state government assured it of action against those responsible for the killing of the nine persons.
The committee also demanded compensation for the victims' families and government jobs for their relatives.
'Don't Blame Govt Only': CM N Biren Singh Condemns 'Politically Motivated' Gangs For Attacks Houses Of Ministers
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday spoke on the matter of the mob attacking houses of his ministers last week after three women and three children went missing in Jiribam. He also said that suspects involved in looting the properties of ministers and MLAs during protests on November 16 were identified and legal actions have been initiated.
Singh told reporters, “In the name of democratic movement, some gangs have looted and burnt the residences of ministers and MLAs. Suspects have been identified through CCTV and appropriate legal actions have been initiated. I feel ashamed to publicly to say that such things are happening in Manipur."
Further addressing the people of Manipur, the chief minister said, “Do not blame the government only. We need to correct ourselves as well.”
He added that he has no objections against anyone who genuinely protested against the killing of children and women in Jiribam district.
“But those politically motivated gangs who took advantage of the situation, we will take legal action (against them),” Singh said.
The CM also claimed that if the CRPF had not gunned down 10 or 11 suspected militants in Jiribam, some 100 civilians would have been killed on November 11 since the attackers wanted to over run a relief camp in Borobekra and a police station.
Congress Vs BJP On Manipur Unrest
The Congress on Friday slammed BJP president J P Nadda over his allegation that the opposition party was pushing a politically motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur, saying his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge is a "4D exercise -- denial, distortion, distraction and defamation".
On Friday, Nadda accused the Congress of spreading a "incorrect and politically motivated" narrative about the situation in Manipur. He was responding to Kharge, who had called for President Droupadi Murmu to intervene and criticised the government for failing to resolve the crisis.
Nadda said that the problems in Manipur today are a result of Congress' "abject failure" to handle local issues when they were in power.
Hitting back at Nadda, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President."
"Naddaji's letter is, not surprisingly, full of falsehoods and is a 4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation," he said in a post on X.
The people of Manipur are yearning for normalcy, peace and harmony to return to the state at the earliest, Ramesh added.
Manipur Ethnic Violence Claimed 258 Lives Since May 2023: Security Advisor
Manipur Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh in a statement revealed that as per official data, the ethnic violence in Manipur has claimed 258 lives since May 2023.
He said that the state would get around 90 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), over and above the 198 companies that are already in Manipur.
The security advisor also mentioned that 32 people were arrested in connection with vandalism and torching of properties of ministers and MLAs while around 3,000 looted weapons have been recovered.
