(MENAFN- Live Mint) Manipur Violence News: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his scheduled election rallies in Maharashtra and returned to Delhi as tensions escalate in the northeastern state of Manipur. The cancellation follows a night of intense violence and unrest in the region, which has seen violent mobs target BJP and congress legislators' homes, leading to a volatile situation in the capital, Imphal.
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Amit Shah, who was in Maharashtra to campaign for the state Assembly elections, is now expected to hold an urgent meeting with senior officials in Delhi to assess the situation in Manipur.
According to PTI report Amit Shah's return is linked to the deteriorating law and order situation in Manipur, where widespread violence has plagued the Imphal Valley.
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On Saturday night, violent mobs set fire to the residences of three BJP legislators and one Congress MLA across various districts of the Imphal Valley.
The targets included prominent figures such as PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujam, BJP MLAs Y Radheshyam and Paonam Brojen, and Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar.
The attacks were reportedly triggered by outrage over the killing of three women and children in Jiribam district earlier that week.
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The situation escalated further when protesters attempted to storm the ancestral home of Chief Minister N Biren Singh , though security forces successfully repelled the attempt.
As anger among the public mounted, an indefinite curfew was imposed in five districts, while internet services were suspended to curb the spread of misinformation.
Manipur Violence News: Killings of Women and Children by Militants Trigger Fresh Violent Protests
The current wave of Manipur violence gained momentum following the recovery of six bodies, suspected to be of missing Meitei individuals, from a displaced persons' camp near a site where security forces killed 10 Hmar men on 11 November.
The slain men were described by security forces as militants, though the Kuki-Zo community insists they were village volunteer .
Public frustration has been fuelled further by the re-imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in violence-prone areas. The Manipur government has formally requested the Centre to review and withdraw AFSPA from six police station jurisdictions.
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The Indian government has dispatched a team of central security officers to Manipur to assess the situation and provide assistance to the state authorities.
The Centre's decision to reimpose AFSPA in Manipur on Thursday in six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam, followed a wider application of the Act on 1 October.
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The six police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur
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