- Friday, February 28, 2025
The top court’s order came a day after a person was beheaded and three others were shot by rival groups in the north-eastern state where communal violence started on May 3.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WITH the situation in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur showing no signs of improvement even after two months, the country’s top court on Monday (3) sought a “detailed status report” from the state’s government giving explanation on the “situation on the ground”.
A bench presided over by chief justice DY Chandrachud fixed the next hearing on July 10 after solicitor general Tushar Mehta said “the situation is improving though slowly” and requested time to file an updated status report, The Indian Express reported.
“Let’s have an updated status report from the SG. We are not adjourning it by a long time…So we want to know what steps have been taken on the ground…Give us a detailed status report,” Chandrachud said.
The bench, which also comprises justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Mishra, said in the order that the solicitor general had submitted that Manipur would file an updated status report about measures that have been taken and indicating the current situation.
The top court’s order came a day after a person was beheaded and three others were shot by rival groups in the north-eastern state where communal violence started on May 3. Nearly 140 people have reportedly been killed in the violence so far while several hundreds have been injured and rendered homeless.
On Sunday, several residents of the state’s Langza village, located in the badly affected Churachandpur district, fled after an attack began. The man who was beheaded was identified as David Thiek who was one of the volunteers of the village who had stayed back, Firstpost reported.
The three other shot dead were identified as Ningombam Ibomcha, Naorem Rajkumar and Haobam Ibocha. The incident happened in Khoijumantabi’s Bishnupur district, at the border with Churachandpur.
Police said the incident happened when “armed miscreants coming from adjoining hills fired at the village volunteers” who were in Khoijumantabi hills.
The situation in Manipur has not improved despite home minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state in May end. The opposition have slammed prime minister Narendra Modi for allegedly remaining silent over the situation and not paying it a visit. Shah said at an all-party meeting held on Manipur on June 24 that Modi was constantly keeping a watch on the situation in the state.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi from the Indian National Congress visited Manipur last week when his convoy was stopped from reaching Churachandpur from state capital Imphal on safety grounds. He later took a helicopter to reach the destination and spoke to people spending sleepless nights in relief camps.
