Following a law-and-order situation in the state, the Manipur government suspended mobile internet (or data) services for five days in order to curb rumour-mongering through the spread of images, hate speech and hate video messages.
Special secretary (home) H Gyan Prakash in an order issued on Saturday said, “This order is issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order in the state of Manipur and shall be in force for next five days with immediate effect from the time this suspension order becomes operational or till further orders.”
The step was taken to prevent disturbances to the peaceful co-existence of the communities and maintenance of public order, the circular said.
The government order came after a van was set ablaze by three or four persons in Phougakchao Ikhai area along Tiddim road on Saturday.
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A few hours later, the administrations of Bishnupur and Churachandpur imposed section 144 of the CrPC in the two districts in separate orders.
Over the past few days, the state has seen unrest arising from the arrest of five leaders of the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) on charges of conspiring to impose economic blockade in the hilly districts of Manipur.
ATSUM even imposed a 24-hour total shutdown against the alleged non-tabling of the Hill Area Committee (HAC)-recommended ‘The Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill 2021’ in the assembly. Reports say the bill will ensure autonomy for the hilly areas in the state.
But the Manipur assembly on its concluding day on Friday, passed ‘The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (Sixth amendment) bill, 2022’, with a few amendments, while ‘The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (Seventh amendment) bill, 2022’ has been referred to the HAC.
A demonstration demanding the release of the arrested ATSUM leaders by a group of students under the banner of All College Tribal Students’ Union (ACTSU) on Saturday morning turned violent wherein both police personnel and students were injured. Nearly 20 students were wounded in the incident, an ACTSU functionary claimed. A court in Imphal yesterday remanded the arrested ATSUM leaders to judicial custody for 15 days.
In the meantime, the imposition of economic blockade evoked sharp reaction from Meitei Leepun, a valley-based organisation which claimed that the blockade targets the valley area of the state. They even locked the ATSUM office in Imphal on Friday.
Police said many goods trucks carrying essential commodities were stranded in the Nagaland sector of the National Highway 2 (Imphal-Dimapur route) due to the ongoing economic blockade.
“So far, more than 500 goods trucks have been escorted to Imphal from various parts of the highway,” a police officer stationed in Senapati district said on Sunday.