Imphal: A truck carrying goods and supplies was torched at Kangpokpi town at around 11:30 pm on Wednesday allegedly by miscreants, police said.
The incident happened at a place between Kangpokpi and Changoubung village in the northern Kangpokpi district on National Highway 102. Kangpokpi police said the registration number of the vehicle indicated it belonged to the Meitei community.
In another incident, an empty narcotic check post at Leingangpokpi in Jiribam district was set ablaze by unknown miscreants at around 10pm on Wednesday, police said.
Police said that the Manipur Fire Service, along with state forces, were pressed into the services, however, they came under attack by the armed miscreants. The state force also retaliated with gunshots.
No casualties were reported during the incident, said police.
Also Read: Bus carrying CRPF jawans torched in violence-hit Manipur; no one hurt: Police
The Kuki Inpi, a tribal body, has alleged that Manipur police commandos and Meitei militants were indiscriminately firing on the villagers and village volunteers of Phaitol Village, Tamenglong district (a border village between Tamenglong and Jiribam).
Meanwhile, as per the agreement with district authorities of both Jiribam and Tamenglong, the joint Kuki Civil Societies of Jiribam and Tamenglong suspended their bandh on NH-37 (Imphal-Silchar to Jiribam) for two days. However, the joint body re-imposed an indefinite economic blockade along the National Highway until their demands were met.
Over 500 goods-laden trucks stranded between Leingangpokpi and Gulathol in Jiribam district in Manipur were forced to return to Jiribam after Kuki villagers blocked National Highway 37 at Tatbung in Tamenglong district on Monday.
Their demands include lifting the blockade imposed by Meitei mobs in Jiribam town, finding the missing person L Thainmuang of Jiribam who was allegedly abducted from his house in the presence of his family members, and booking all Arambai Tengol and Meitei militants from Jiribam district and removing them from Jiribam surroundings.
On Monday, Union home minister Amit Shah’s high-level security meeting, during which he announced that additional forces would be deployed in Manipur, if required, while issuing a firm directive to take strict action as per law against the perpetrators of violence.
In follow-up action, the state government has started the process of constructing infrastructure with pre-fabricated materials for accommodating Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)-50 Coys at 50 different locations across 13 districts of Manipur.
One company of CAPF reported to Singjamei police station around 12 noon on Thursday. Opposing this, a large group of Meira Paibi (women’s group) stormed the police station, demanding that the CAPF could not stay in the surrounding areas. One of the Meira Paibi leaders said the CAPF should be deployed in vulnerable areas, not in the Imphal area, where there is peace.
The agitation by Meira Paibi forced the CAPF vehicles to move away from Singjamei Police Station.
A similar protest was also held by the students of DM University, Imphal, who marched in a rally from Kangla western gate towards Raj Bhavan, Imphal. However, the Manipur police blocked the rally just opposite Raj Bhavan’s main gate and dispersed the participants.
