'Shoot at sight' orders in Manipur

Imphal: Manipur government on Thursday issued 'shoot at sight' order in "extreme cases" to contain spiralling violence in the state between tribals and the majority Meitei community which has displaced over 9,000 people from their villages.

Fifty-five columns of the Army and Assam Rifles had to be deployed to contain widespread rioting that broke out across Manipur between tribals and the majority Meitei community, displacing over 9,000 people. The Army also kept some 14 columns on standby for deployment in case the situation flared up once again, a defence spokesperson said. The Centre, which is monitoring the situation in Manipur, also dispatched teams of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised force to handle riots, for deployment in violence-hit areas of the Northeastern state.

Clashes broke out on Wednesday which intensified overnight with counter-attacks being mounted by rival communities in retaliation to earlier attacks, after Naga and Kuki tribals organised a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to protest moves to give scheduled tribe status to the majority Metei community.

The ‘shoot at sight’ order issued Thursday by the Governor of the northeastern state said all magistrates could issue the order when persuasion, warning and reasonable force “have been exhausted and the situation could not be controlled”.

Underlining the gravity of the violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday spoke to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and took stock of the situation in the state.

So far, 9,000 people were rescued by the forces from the violence-hit areas, and given shelter, the spokesperson said, adding that more people are being shifted to safer places.