3 people shot dead in Manipur's Thoubal, curfew reimposed in valley districts
Imphal, Jan 1: Three persons were allegedly shot dead and five others injured in Manipur's Thoubal district on Monday evening, following which curfew was reimposed in the five valley districts of the state, officials said.
Gunmen, who are yet to be identified, arrived in camouflage dresses in the Lilong Chingjao area, and opened fire targeting locals, they said.
While three people died on the spot, five others were injured. Those injured were admitted to a hospital, officials said.
After the attack, the enraged locals set three four-wheelers on fire. It was not immediately clear to whom these cars belonged.
Following the fresh violence, curfew was reimposed in Thoubal, Imphal East and Imphal West, Kakching and Bishnupur districts, officials said.
In a video message, Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the violence, and appealed to the people, particularly the residents of Lilong, for maintaining peace.
"Police are working to arrest those behind the attack. They will be arrested soon and punished as per the law," he said.
More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred 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. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
