New Delhi, Jun 17, 2024, SUBHASHIS MITTRA
New Delhi, Jun 17: Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Monday to review the security situation in Manipur.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau Chief Tapan Deka, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pandey, Chief of Army Staff (Designate) General Upendra Dwivedi, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh and other Senior officers attended the meeting.
According to an official statement, Shah directed that strict action must be taken as per law against the perpetrators of violence in the northeastern state.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will talk to Meitei and Kuki communities at the earliest to bridge the ethnic divide in Manipur.
The home minister said deployment of central forces will be increased, if required, to restore peace and tranquillity in the state,
Shah also said steps must be taken to ensure that no fresh incident of violence took place in the state which has been witnessing ethnic violence for over a year.
The MHA will talk to both the groups, Meiteis and Kukis, so as to bridge the ethnic divide at the earliest, Shah was quoted as saying in the statement. He also instructed the chief secretary of Manipur to ensure proper health and education facilities for the displaced people and their rehabilitation.
Shah also reviewed the situation in relief camps, especially in respect of proper availability of food, water, medicines and other basic amenities and underscored the importance of coordinated approach to resolve the ongoing ethnic conflict.
The Centre has been actively supporting the Manipur government in strengthening the security situation in the state, the statement said.
Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Since then, over 220 people belonging to both Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.