Imphal: A day after a 40-year-old Meitei community man was killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, a mob attacked the house of MP Rajkumar Ranjan Singh late Thursday night.
Personnel from the Rapid Action Force and the Jat Regiment of the Indian Army were trying to disperse the crowd gathered outside the house of Singh, who is the Minister of State for External Affairs and Education.
The mob, which included Meitei men and women, attacked the home of the MP, who is from the same community, over the dozens of deaths in Manipur violence in recent weeks.
A person with knowledge of the matter said that while Singh was inside the house when the mob attempted to torch the house, three other members of his family were present in the building.
As the mob started pelting stones at the MP’s house, security forces fired tear gas shells, officials said.
A woman who witnessed the incident said that some people started attacking the outpost at around 8 pm and asked everyone in the neighborhood to come out.
“We were about to have dinner. It was people from the surrounding areas who had gathered. It seemed they had come prepared to burn down the house. They are angry over the death of a Meitei man in Bishnupur yesterday and our MPs and The MLAs are doing nothing. The clashes have been going on for more than 20 days and it is not taking the name of abating.
The incident comes after the house of Manipur minister Konthoujam Govinddas in Bishnupur was attacked during the ongoing caste violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities, in which around 75 people have already lost their lives.
The late night developments came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier appealed for peace in Manipur and said he would soon visit the northeastern state and talk to people from both the communities involved in the violence.
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