On Saturday, protesters in Imphal, the capital of India's northeastern state of Manipur, ran past burning vehicles during a demonstration condemning the alleged killing of women and children. The following day, police arrested 23 individuals for ransacking and setting fire to the homes of lawmakers and ministers, as hundreds of protesters continued to demonstrate against recent violent killings, defying a curfew.
The violence, which marked the second day of unrest in the area, has led to a tense standoff in Imphal. A senior state police official told Reuters, "The situation is relatively calm today but unpredictable," emphasizing that the situation was being closely monitored. The arrests were made in response to Saturday's violence, which involved the "ransacking and arson" of several state lawmakers' and ministers' homes, according to a police statement.
Police personnel used tear gas shells to disperse the mob, resulting in eight injuries. Additional security forces were deployed, and an indefinite curfew was imposed on Saturday, with internet and mobile services suspended after protesters attempted to storm the residences of several lawmakers, including state Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Protesters are demanding accountability for the deadly violence, which has claimed the lives of at least two women and two children in the latest incident.
Since May 2023, inter-communal clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities have resulted in at least 250 deaths and displaced 60,000 people. Early on Sunday, the body of a woman, believed to be a member of a missing Meitei family, was found in a river, while three other bodies, including two children, were recovered on Friday. Identification is ongoing, but they are likely linked to the missing family, according to a district administration official from Jiribam. A Kuki man's body was also found from the area on Sunday, though authorities have yet to confirm the cause of death, stating it "could be linked to the violence."
Tensions escalated last week when a 31-year-old woman from the Kuki tribal community was burned alive. Kuki groups have blamed Meitei militants for the act. Manipur has become divided into two ethnic enclaves: the Meitei-controlled valley and the Kuki-dominated hills, separated by a stretch of no-man's land monitored by federal forces.
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