The death toll in the Manipur carnage increased to 54, officials said even as unofficial sources put the figure at several scores. Life returned to a wary normalcy in Imphal Valley on Saturday as shops and markets reopened and cars started plying on the roads.
Security presence which has been bolstered by flying in more army troops and rapid action force and central police forces was clearly visible at all major areas and roads.
Most shops and markets in Imphal town and other places opened in the morning with people buying vegetables and other essential commodities even as security forces were deployed in large numbers.
Of the 54 dead, 16 bodies were kept in the morgue of the Churachandpur district hospital while 15 bodies were in Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal East district, officials said.
The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences at Lamphel in Imphal West district reported 23 dead, the official said.
Meanwhile, five hill-based militants were killed and two India Reserve Battalion jawans were injured in two separate encounters in Churachandpur district on Friday night, police said.
An encounter took place at Saiton in Churachandpur district between the security forces and the militants in which four militants were gunned down, the police said.
Militants opened fire at security forces at Torbung forcing them to return the fire. In the exchange of fire one militant was killed and two IRB jawans were injured, the police said.
Multiple sources said the fighting between communities had left several scores of people dead and nearly a hundred injured. However, the police were unwilling to confirm this.
The bodies were brought from districts such as Imphal East and West, Churachandpur and Bishenpur.
Many people with bullet injuries are also being treated at RIMS and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences.
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Earlier, the CRPF had directed its personnel hailing from Manipur and on leave in their home state to “immediately” report to their nearest security base with family members in the wake of a CoBRA commando being killed in the ongoing violence in the state.
The commando of the Central Reserve Police Force’s CoBRA, who was on leave, was shot dead by armed assailants in his village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Friday noon, officials said.
The headquarters of the 3.25-lakh personnel strong force in Delhi asked all its field commanders to “promptly” contact their off-duty personnel hailing from Manipur and convey the message.
The directive, accessed by PTI, asks all personnel hailing from Manipur and on leave in their home state to “report immediately” to their nearest security force base along with their family if they feel “unsafe or insecure”.
It has asked its Manipur and Nagaland Sector Office, headquartered in Imphal, to extend “all possible assistance to such personnel promptly”.
On Friday, the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Association condemned the killing of an Income Tax department official posted in Imphal. In its tweet, it said the “association strongly condemns the dastardly act of violence resulting in the death of Sh. Letminthang Haokip, tax assistant in Imphal. No cause or ideology can justify the killing of an innocent public servant on duty”.
“Our thoughts are with his family in this difficult hour,” it said. The association, an all-India body of the Income Tax Department, also posted a photo of the official.
Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the Army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed in the state which was rocked by clashes since Wednesday between the Meitei community, which mainly live in Imphal Valley, and Naga and Kuki tribals who are inhabitants of the hill districts.
IRS Association strongly condemns the dastardly act of violence resulting in the death of Sh. Letminthang Haokip, Tax Assistant in Imphal. No cause or ideology can justify the killing of an innocent public servant on duty. Our thoughts are with his family in this difficult hour. pic.twitter.com/MQgeCDO95O
— IRS Association (@IRSAssociation) May 5, 2023
