People protesting against violence in Manipur were stopped by Delhi Police personnel from staging a demonstration outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence on Wednesday. Several protestors were detained from outside Shah’s residence and were told they can’t stage their agitation there.
The protest was organised by members of the Kuki community, who wanted to meet the Home Minister. They were holding placards with messages such as ‘Save Kuki Lives’ and raising slogans.
Police said four of the protesters were allowed to enter the home minister’s residence for a meeting and the rest were shifted to Jantar Mantar.
People are protesting peacefully, however, the police stopped them by barricading outside the house, according to the Hindi publication Patrika.
Nearly 100 people have lost their lives and 310 others injured in the ethnic violence in Manipur. A total of 37,450 people are currently sheltered in 272 relief camps.
On Tuesday, The North East Indigenous Peoples’ Forum (NEIPF) called upon the Union and state governments to step in and protect citizens amid the ethnic violence in Manipur. The forum also offered a prayer and hoped for peaceful and harmonious co-existence among all the communities in Manipur.
Clashes first broke out in the northeastern state on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Around 10,000 Army and Assam Rifles personnel have been deployed in the state to restore peace.
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