‘Shoot at sight’ order was issued by the Manipur government to its capital Imphal, since the violence started spreading throughout the state. Around 55 new army forces were appointed to strengthen the security in the state, Almost 500 staff from Rapid Action Force (RAF) were also set up to deal with the riot.
After the deployment of Army and Rapid Action Force, the violence between Kuki tribe of Manipur and the Meitei community, pursued to exasperate in several regions of the state on 3rd May 2023.
The ‘shoot at sight’ order was issued at the extreme scenario by the state’s Home Department as the situation worsened on Thursday(4th May) after the huge riot on Wednesday night.
A legislator from Kuki has been admitted to a municipal hospital,as his car was purposefully attacked by a group of people on the afternoon of thursday i.e. after the shoot at sight order was imposed on the capital city.
A report was made on the clashes between the two batches of people in the bordering area of Bishnupur and the Churachandpur district, which was then followed by a procession, organized by All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in the middle of the week.
The reason behind the protest was to include their state’s Meitei community in the ST (Scheduled Tribe) category which was proceeded by directive of Manipur High Court on 19 April.
The Meiteis community has been demanding to include them in the ST list which inturn would provide more protection to them, but Nagas and Kukis-the state’s tribes have opposed it strongly making a statement that it would rob their lands from them.
The violence started spreading throughout the state by Wednesday evening and the mobs went on a riot, burnt vehicles and attacked all the vehicles that came on their way. More than two churches were also burnt in this protest.
The police and the paramilitary forces tried to control the riot, but it wasn’t successful. In the western district of Imphal it was claimed by eyewitnesses that there were two bodies lying on the roadside, beside the burning vehicles.
Chief Minister Biren Singh made a statement that many people lost their lives along with the destruction of the properties of the state. He said it is really difficult to make developments in the state. CM said that this situation has arisen due to the misunderstanding between the two different communities of the state and he requested the people to maintain peace and harmony. He didn’t want people to believe rumors and messages which aren’t verified.
Despite all the peaceful appeals by CM to people regarding the situation, there wasn’t any difference. Almost 7,500 civilians were evacuated by the army to the various regions considering their safety and security.
