Manipur crisis: Fresh violence in Imphal, two houses set on fire

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A day earlier, a Manipur BJP MLA RK Imo Singh blamed foreign terror groups for prolonging the conflict in the state and "showing Manipur and the rest of the country in bad light." In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the MLA said legal action should be taken against all those involved in spreading terror in the country and using international platforms to propagate the separatist agenda. Singh also urged the home minister to seriously view the denial by the Mizoram government to cancel biometric data collection of illegal immigrants from Myanmar as "it could change the whole demography of the region." He also requested Shah for fencing the entire Indo-Myanamr border in Mizoram "to help in controlling influx of illegal immigrants" so as to protect the indigenous people and strengthen the internal security of the country.

Singh thanked the Centre's decision of sending a CBI team to the state to probe the killing of two students and subsequent arrest of four persons allegedly involved in the murders. Notably, more than 180 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the 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. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.