Amid fresh escalation of violence in Manipur over the last few days, former Indian Army chief general (Retired) Ved Prakash Malik Friday called for “urgent attention” to the law and order situation in the state.
In a tweet, General Malik tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, and wrote: “Law and order situation in Manipur needs urgent attention at highest level.”
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An extraordinary sad call from a retired Lt Gen from Manipur. Law & order situation in Manipur needs urgent attention at highest level. @AmitShah @narendramodi @rajnathsingh https://t.co/VH4EsLkWSU
— Ved Malik (@Vedmalik1) June 16, 2023
Malik was responding to a tweet by a lieutenant general (retired) L Nishikanta Singh, a retired senior army officer from Manipur, who claimed that “the state is now stateless”.
A day after Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh’s house was set on fire by a mob, Nishikanta Singh tweeted the state is now “stateless”, and compared the situation in Manipur to that in Libya, Lebanon, Nigiria and Syria. “It appears Manipur has been left to stew in its own juice. Is anyone listening?” asked the former Lieutenant General.
Malik described this as “an extraordinary sad call from a retired Lt General from Manipur”.
Thursday night’s attack was the second one targeting Ranjan Singh’s residence, located in Kongba in Imphal East district, since violence broke out in Manipur. The first one took place on May 25 night when a mob tried to storm the residence while he was inside.
Meanwhile, evening saw fresh clashes between the state Rapid Action Force and a mob that torched a warehouse belonging to a retired IAS officer from the tribal community. Police used teargas shells to disperse the rioters as they feared other properties could be targeted.
Nine people were killed in incidents of firing and arson in Aigejang village in Kangpokpi district on Tuesday night — the second major wave of violence in the state after initial large-scale clashes of May 3 to 5.
The violence in Manipur first broke out after a ‘tribal solidarity march’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The state has been witnessing sporadic violence since then.