Protests in Manipur over killings, AFSPA

Thousands of demonstrators on Thursday defied curfew and staged a rally in Manipur’s Imphal East district demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from the state and the arrest of those responsible for the killings of three women and three children, all members of a Meitei family in Jiribam district.

Meanwhile in Jiribam district, volunteers from the Coordinating Committee of Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) student wing locked several government offices as part of a two-day campaign demanding mass operations against Kuki-Zo militants and the removal of AFSPA.

The volunteers forced government employees to vacate offices and locked the main doors.

The Centre recently reimposed AFSPA, under which an area is declared as “disturbed” for the convenience of security forces to operate, in Manipur’s six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.

In a notification, the Union Home Ministry had said that the decision was taken given the continuous volatile situation there due to the ongoing ethnic violence. The police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed include, Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district and Jiribam.