Manipur violence: Schools to remain closed for three days

The Directorate of Education-Schools in Manipur has ordered the closure of all state government, state government-aided, and private unaided schools for a period of three days. This decision comes into effect from Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and will continue until Friday, September 29, 2023.

The directive was issued with approval from the government, as indicated in their letter numbered MISC5/15/2023 EDN(S)- EDN(S) dated September 26, 2023.

While the specific reasons for the school closures were not provided in the official announcement, it is essential for students, parents, and school staff to adhere to these dates and take the necessary precautions during this period.

Earlier in the day, thousands of students took to streets to protest brutal killing of two Meitei teens in Imphal. 
Beginning around 11 am, students, particularly from institutions like TG Higher Secondary School, Johnstone Higher Secondary School, Ibotonsana Higher Secondary School, and CC Higher Secondary School, participated in the protest. They attempted to march towards Raj Bhawan and later the CM's Bungalow. However, police personnel prevented them from getting closer than approximately 50 meters to Raj Bhawan. To disperse the protestors, the police fired several rounds of tear gas and smoke bombs.

The demonstrators chanted slogans such as "We want justice," "We condemn the brutal killings of innocent students," and "punish the culprits at the earliest."

One of the protestors expressed deep condemnation for the cold-blooded killing of students. They emphasized that students are innocent and should not become victims of the ongoing crisis under any circumstances. The demand was for the state government to swiftly apprehend all the culprits, with a warning that various forms of agitation would be pursued if their demands were not met.

Another female protestor, Asem Nirmala, expressed disappointment with the central government's silence despite the viral videos depicting the gruesome killings of two Meitei students. She described this silence as unfortunate and reflective of the central government's lack of seriousness regarding the Meitei community's plight.