After months of violence, some semblance of normalcy returned to strife-hit Manipur after schools reopened on Wednesday.
The state department of education had issued an order stating that schools for Classes 1 to 8 will start from Wednesday, after being shut since ethnic clashes began in the state on May 3. Manipur has around 1,110 schools – including 643 private schools, 384 government schools and 83 aided schools.
Meanwhile, fresh incidents of violence were reported in the northeastern state. The security forces on Tuesday foiled an attempt to loot weapons from the India Reserve Battalion at Khangabok in the Thoubal district of Manipur. One person was killed and a few others were injured in the incident.
A tweet by Spear Corps read: "An attempt to loot weapons from an India Reserve Battalion at Khangabok in Thoubal district of #Manipur was successfully thwarted by Security Forces today. One rioter was killed while a few others were injured during the failed attempt. Mob had laid roadblocks to prevent the movement of reinforcements. However, additional columns of Assam Rifles and Rapid Action Force were able to induct and the situation was brought under control by synergised efforts of Security Forces."
The deceased has been identified as Ronaldo. He was first taken to the Thoubal district hospital but later referred to a hospital in Imphal as his condition was critical. He died on the way to the state capital, officials said. Ten others were also injured in the clashes, they said.
The mob also attacked a team of the Assam Rifles that was on the way to the camp. They fired on the Assam Rifles personnel, in which a jawan was injured, and torched their vehicle, officials said. The jawan was shot in the leg, they said.
Besides, two incidents of intermittent firings were also reported in Manipur, the latest being in the early hours of Wednesday. However, there have been no casualties.
The first incident of intermittent firing was reported between two communities in the Khoijumtambi area from 7 pm to 8 pm on Tuesday, security forces said.
The exchange of fire stopped after some time. The second incident was reported around 4.30 am on Wednesday along the ridge line, East of Phaileng. There was no report of any casualty in this as well.
So far, nearly 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 have been injured in the ethnic violence that broke out in Manipur on May 3. The violent clashes took place after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides those of the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normalcy in the state.