Manipur: Jiribam remains tense a day after violence

28 July 2018:

An uneasy calm prevailed in Jiribam district of Manipur on Saturday following Friday’s clashes between migrant protestors and the police that left at least ten people, including Jiribam Superintendent of Police M Mubi Singh and the officer-in-charge of a local police station, injured.

The district has been on the edge for the past three days after the Manipur Assembly had passed the Manipur People’s Protection Bill, 2018 to protect the identity of locals. As per the Bill, outsiders, who settled down in the state after 1951, will be viewed as “foreigners”.

Fearing trouble, the Jiribam district administration had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in the whole of the district for an indefinite period since Friday morning. However, hours later, some hundreds of people, who took out a protest march, clashed with the police. The protestors demanded that the government make 1972 – when Manipur attained statehood – the base year to detect the foreigners.

The SP said the situation on Saturday was tense but under control. “We are ready to tackle any situation,” he told InsideNe.