2 killed, Army major among 50 injured in fresh violence in Manipur
Imphal(PTI): Two persons were killed and 50 others, including an Army major, were injured in fresh violence in Manipur on Friday when hundreds of people from the majority community attempted to storm tribal villages, officials said.
In the morning, a gunfight erupted at Molnoi village near Pallel in Tengnoupal district between security forces and armed persons who attempted to resort to arson and violence in the village.
As the news of the gunfight spread, large groups of Meitei community members, including Meira Paibis and Arambai Tenggol militiamen dressed in commando uniforms, attempted to break through security check posts and move towards Pallel.
Security forces personnel attempted to stop the mob to ensure peace and stability in Pallel, where the situation has been tense for a few days.
Being blocked by the forces, some armed persons who were dressed in police uniforms and part of the mob opened fire, resulting in gunshot injuries to an Army major. The officer was evacuated to a military hospital in Leimakhong by a helicopter. Three other police personnel were also injured in the incident.
In a calibrated response, the forces used minimum force to disperse the mob, officials said.
More than 45 women were injured after security forces personnel lobbed teargas shells to defuse the situation, officials said.
The morning gunfight led to the death of a person, officials said. Also, a 48-year-old man was killed in the crossfire, officials said.
In the meantime, a contingent of RAF personnel heading to Pallel from Imphal to contain the mob was blocked by locals, including Meira Paibis, at Thoubal.
The situation is still tense and firing has temporarily stopped, officials said.
This comes two days after thousands of protesters gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district on Wednesday and tried to break through army barricades.
Though they were claiming that they wanted to reach their deserted houses in Torbung, but sources within the security establishment alleged that the mob wanted to ransack the houses of tribals besides attacking them.
A day before the protest, a full curfew had been clamped in all the five valley districts of Manipur as a preventive measure.
More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a "Tribal Solidarity March" was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill district.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
