GUWAHATI: At least eight people were killed and 21 others were injured in the ongoing violence that has engulfed Manipur’s Churachandpur town.
An injured person succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Tuesday and a charred body was recovered, with sporadic incidents of violence also reported.
Sources said an indefinite curfew, clamped in the violence-hit areas on Monday night, was still in force. They said the situation remained tense. Normal activities were affected on Tuesday after the protesters had called a lightning bandh.
Three people people were killed on Monday when the protesters torched the private residences of state Health Minister Phungzathang Tonsing and five MLAs, who are from the ruling Congress. And two more bodies, including one that was charred, were recovered on Tuesday. Official sources said the condition of some of the injured people was stated to be serious.
On Monday, the Manipur Assembly had passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh amendment) Bill, 2015, and Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bills have been sent to the Governor for his assent.
The protest is primarily against the passing of Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh amendment) Bill, 2015, which proposes to give non-tribals the right to buy land in tribal areas.
In the aftermath of the passing of the Bill, the tribals, particularly the Kukis, feel venerable to encroachment and interference by non-tribals. They are angry with the Kuki lawmakers, whose private residences were torched on Monday, for failing to protect the rights of the ‘indigenous’ people.