Guwahati: Four Meitei, including two minors, were killed in Bishnupur district on Tuesday morning in two separate incidents as violence returned to Manipur after a brief lull, prompting authorities to shut internet and clamp curfew in the restive region.At around 1.10 am, a five-year-old boy and his five-month-old sister were killed when a bomb ripped through their bedroom, critically injuring their mother who is now battling for life in an Imphal hospital.The two children were identified as Oinam Tomthin and his infant sister, Oinam Yaisana. Their injured mother, Pheiroijam Binita, is employed as a nurse at a private hospital in Guwahati while her husband Oinam Mangal, is serving in the BSF and is currently posted in Bihar.Binita had returned to their Bishnupur home with her two children for a religious function.Police said the bomb was hurled in the house, and unfortunately the impact happened to be in the bedroom. Later security personnel recovered one unexploded RPG and one IED from near the house.As news spread at the crack of dawn, a large number of men and women gathered at Tronglaobi area and later stormed the CRPF camp near Gelmol, a few 100 meters from the bomb attack site.Protests erupted across several parts of Manipur’s valley on Tuesday, with roadblocks set up by angry demonstrators.As they went on the rampage, the CRPF in order to quell the protests opened fire, in which two persons died and five were injured.Later, the state government ordered suspension of internet and mobile data services in five valley districts — Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur — for five days to contain the unrest.A curfew was simultaneously clamped in Bishnupur district as authorities moved to restore order.Though the blast location at Tronglaobi Awang Leikai is inside Meitei inhabited territory in Manipur’s valley belt, Meitei organizations were quick to blame the Kuki community, even as miscreants set fire to three oil tankers at the Moirang Oil Pump Station carrying supplies to Churachandpur.The Kuki Zo Council immediately denied any involvement, stressing that with buffer zones strictly guarded by security forces between the lands inhabited by the two communities, it was highly implausible for any Kuki Zo individual to infiltrate and carry out such an attack in the interior of Meitei localities. The council condemned the tragic incident and urged restraint.Manipur continues to remain on the edge since the beginning of the Kuki-Meitei conflict on May 3, 2023 which has claimed more than 260 lives and displaced about 60,000 people. In recent times, ethnic conflict has also erupted between the Kuki and Naga.CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh announced that the Tronglaobi bomb blast has been handed over to the NIA saying that the attack appeared to be the handiwork of elements with vested interests in disturbing peace in the state, the state govt said in a statement.A massive combing operation is underway, with combined forces of the state police, Assam Rifles and CRPF, supported by helicopters. The CM also chaired a high-level security review with the Army, Assam Rifles, State Police and CRPF, and instructions were issued to intensify operations and take swift action.Home Kont minister Govindas Singh said that perpetrators were “peace disruptors” and added that CM has directed security officers to capture those responsible “dead or alive.” “State commandos have been redeployed in hill areas after a long gap, equipped with bulletproof vehicles to strengthen operations,” he said.The Chief Minister earlier in the day stressed that “restoring peace and normalcy remains the government’s top priority.” Visiting the injured mother in hospital, he condemned the attack.
