Curfew relaxed, internet suspended in Manipur

“Curfew was relaxed from <g data-gr-id="17">5am</g> so that people could buy essential commodities,” Churachandpur district magistrate Lunminthang Haokip said.

“As of now, there has been no report of fresh violence but we are keeping a close watch on the situation,” he said. Educational institutions and government establishments besides shops in the district remained closed. At least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured after violence erupted on Monday evening following the Manipur government’s adoption of three landmark bills -- Protection of Manipur People Bill 2015, Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (seventh amendment) Bill 2015, and Manipur Shops and Establishment (second amendment) Bill 2015.

Tribal civil society groups — All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM), Kuki Students Organization (KSO) and All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) — opposed the introduction of the bills, saying they overlapped with article 371C of the constitution and some points in the Manipur Hill People Administration Regulation Act, 1947, meant to safeguard the interest of tribesmen in the hill areas of Manipur.

Meanwhile, Scores of students from Manipur on Wednesday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding imposition of President’s Rule and deployment of Central forces in the Northeast state in the wake of arson and violence in Churachandpur that claimed lives of eight persons and injured many others.

<g data-gr-id="40">Protestors</g> on Wednesday torched the zonal education office (ZEO) in trouble-torn Churachandpur district even as the indefinite curfew which was clamped to control the situation was in force for the third day. Police said the ZEO was set on fire this afternoon as a mark of protest against the passage of three bills in the state assembly on August 31. Eyewitnesses said the building was reduced to ashes.