Army chief Manoj Pande to visit violence-hit Manipur today

New Delhi:

Army chief General Manoj Pande will visit Manipur today to review the security situation in light of the recent violence there, Indian army officials said.

They said that the Army Chief would be informed by the officers of the Eastern Command about the measures taken to control the situation.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles have tightened security in Manipur amid reports of new violence in the state.

Both the security teams in Imphal East and Churchandpur prevented shooting incidents between the two communities, where some gunmen opened fire and ran for higher ground, the army said. However, there were no reports of casualties and further operations were underway.

There have been violent communal clashes in Manipur as the Manipur High Court (HC) ordered the State to follow a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non-tribal Meitei community.

Manipur has seen ethnic violence with Chief Minister N Biren Singh declaring earlier this month that around 60 people have lost their lives. Houses were also burned during the violence and new incidents were also reported in some parts of the state.

Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Biren Singh reported that additional security forces had been brought into the state and security personnel consisting of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Manipur Police, Manipur Rifles, Battalion of India Reserve Force (IRB) and the Village Defense Force (VDF). ) had been deployed in 38 vulnerable areas.

Calling on citizens not to be apprehensive, the Chief Minister reported that operations had been carried out against armed militants in various areas on the periphery of the State.

Efforts are being made to hold peace talks with all sections of the population and the government has been meeting with various peace committees formed in the wake of the prevailing situation in Manipur, it added.

In addition, he called on people to refrain from violent activities and not create or spread unfounded information rumors, which could create tension between different communities. He sought public support for the government’s efforts to bring normalcy.

Following the situation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also scheduled to visit the state for three days.

Calling on people to keep the peace, Shah said on Thursday: “There were clashes in Manipur after a court verdict. I would call on both groups to keep the peace and justice will be done for everyone. Myself I will go to Manipur after a few days and he will stay there for three days and talk to the people of Manipur to establish peace.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)