In Imphal 22 outlaws held with weapons while trying to burn houses

Imphal: Indian Army troops nabbed 22 offenders with weapons and other war material in Manipur’s Imphal East district.

The arrested persons were trying to set houses on fire and were firing indiscriminately at the army with automatic weapons, officials said.
Based on intelligence inputs about the movement of some armed miscreants in Sanasabi, Gwaltbi, Shabunkhol Khunao and YKPI Bowl areas of Imphal East district, Indian Army troops conducted search operations in the area on Sunday night.
During a search and combing operation in one of these areas, armed offenders, who were trying to set houses on fire, suddenly opened indiscriminate fire on army columns with automatic weapons.
The Indian Army troops immediately retaliated and there was a clash for some time and soon the miscreants ran out of ammunition.

When the miscreants were trying to escape under the cover of darkness, the army forces gave chase and arrested a total of 22 offenders along with their weapons.
Five 12-bore double-barrel rifles, three single-barrel rifles, one home-made double-bore weapon and one muzzled weapon were recovered from the possession of the accused.

The miscreants were handed over to the Manipur Police along with the seized weapons and ammunition
The timely action of the Indian Army prevented the loss of many lives and many incidents of arson.

Villagers of Sugnu and Serou in Kakching district of the state witnessed widespread destruction due to violent clashes on Sunday.
During the ongoing violent clashes between the rival groups, villagers from both communities took cover under the protection of security forces.
In a major evacuation drive by the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles with the support of the local police, district administration and civil society organizations, more than 2,000 people belonging to the Meitei community were evacuated from Serou village and shifted to Pangaltabi Relief Camp. Protection of security forces.
While aerial surveillance was provided by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), mine-protected vehicles and area dominance patrols were deployed on the ground to ensure a safe and incident-free evacuation.

Similarly, around 328 Kuki villagers were relocated from the unsafe Sugnu village to the safe Sajik Tampak area.
Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 during the “Tribal Solidarity March” in protest against the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meitis.

Tensions were already high in the state over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land.
The volcano erupted shortly after a High Court order recommending ST status to the Meiteis, the majority community in the state.

At least 78 people have lost their lives, while 300 have been injured since the violent ethnic clashes began on May 3.
On the other hand, more than 2,000 houses were torched by armed militants, thus displacing more than 35,000 people, who are still homeless.

In view of the internal security situation in Manipur, the state administration had called in the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles on 3 May 2023.
As an immediate response, the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles soon deployed 135 columns to diffuse the situation by establishing active control over sensitive and border areas.

At present, around 140 columns of the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles, comprising over 10,000 personnel, besides other paramilitary forces, have been deployed to restore normalcy in the crisis-hit state.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to reach the crisis-hit state on Monday evening.

The Union Home Minister is likely to stay in the state for at least three days to interact with various stakeholders to ensure that peace prevails in the conflict-hit state.