As the Manipur government confirmed that the two students missing for months since July were dead, a new frenzy swept Manipur. Ethnic conflict, violence and anguish has been brewing in the state for months and it worsened when Manipur’s Chief Minister, N Biren Singh’s office confirmed the identities of the victims as 20-year-old Phijam Hemjit and 17-year-old Hijam Linthoingambi. Both belonging to the Meitei community of Imphal. The state government had then proceeded to suspend mobile internet and data services for five days in response to the viral photographs and escalating unrest.
A CBI team formed for this case has reached Manipur to investigate these murders. The Imphal Valley has been enveloped in tension since Tuesday, as citizens took to the streets demanding swift action against the violent crime, and faced a brutal crackdown. Furthermore, the government has chosen to extend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) by another six months in state.
Tragically, the bodies of the missing students remain undiscovered with the government promising the strictest of punishment to the culprits. Earlier photographs had emerged, depicting the two students seated on the ground in a forest setting, with two armed men ominously in the background. Another photograph also emerged which showed them apparently lifeless on the ground after being fatally shot.
After the news of the now-dead students flared, violent protests erupted, with protestors attempting to march towards the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh in Imphal Valley after curfew was announced. This came shortly after a similar attempt was made to burn the BJP Office in Thoubal district of Manipur. Security forces however succeeded in stopping the students by charging several rounds of tear gas bombs. Around 65 protesters were injured that day. The Manipur Police have reacted by registering multiple cases against those involved and conducting raids to recover stolen weapons. With alleged reports of militants roaming the town, curfew was reinforced back on Wednesday.
Reports have also been coming in of the deployment of pellet guns by security forces to quell the recent student protests in the Imphal Valley as protests by students spread across. Schools were shut and mobile internet services were turned off as these took place in the Meitei-dominated valley. The Indian Express has reported news of students suffering from grievous injuries received by security forces at the violence, with reports of ‘shoulder torn’, ‘foreign particle lodged in skull’ and so forth.
A pellet gun is a kind of firearm that discharges non-spherical metallic pellets which uses compressed air to propel it rather than gunpowder explosion. This weapon has previously been used in Kashmir, with Human Rights Watch reporting 4,592 injuries between 2016 and 2019. Because of the catastrophic impact they have on the human body, the Human Rights Watch had called for a ban on them in Kashmir earlier.
The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR), a statutory body, taking cognizance off the on goings has called for the creation of a training manual formulated to sensitise police and security forces on matters such as juvenile justice, human rights, and to work towards maintaining humane standards during crowd control.
Furthermore, according to The Telegraph, six student organisations from the valley namely, the AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK, and AIMS, have jointly called upon both the central and state governments, they have called for reducing the excessive militarisation in the state, apprehending those responsible for the students’ murder, putting an end to human rights violations during the handling of student protests, and for advocating for peaceful resolutions through dialogue.
In response to these instances, an official order was released under the orders of Director General of Police, Rajiv Singh, which stated that a probe is going to be conducted against allegations of excess conducted by security forces against students.
Along with the people of Manipur, the opposition has also called into question the government, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeting about the students: The horrific crimes being committed in Manipur are beyond words, yet they are being allowed to continue unabated. The central government should be ashamed of its inaction.
MP Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress party too expressed condolences over the students’ death and demanded the government take swift action.
The violence that first flared on May 3 2023 has left over 180 casualties, with more than 50,000 individuals internally displaced in Manipur. Furthermore, a recent fact-finding committee that visited the state last month has reported that despite intense divisions and conflict between the Meiteis and Kukis, both communities share a common belief amidst everything that the government has played a significant role in stoking ethnic violence within the state.
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