GUWAHATI: Tensions flared in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Tuesday after four persons, including two children, were killed in a bomb attack and a firing incident. The incidents sparked widespread protests, prompting the state’s BJP-led government to suspend internet services for three days in five Imphal Valley districts.
A five-year-old boy and a six-month-old infant girl were killed and their mother was injured in a bomb attack at around 1 am in the Moirang Tronglaobi area of Meitei-majority Bishnupur district, which shares a border with Kuki-majority Churachandpur district. When news about the incident spread, locals vented their ire by setting fire to two oil tankers and a truck.
Soon after, a mob stormed the camp of a central force, setting several vehicles parked inside on fire. The personnel opened fire to control the situation and five protesters sustained bullet wounds. Two of them later succumbed to injuries. Some other protesters sustained minor injuries.
Protests later erupted in different parts of the Imphal Valley, demanding action against those involved in the bomb attack as well as the security personnel who had opened fire.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the state government decided to hand over the case of the bomb attack to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).