Manipur Govt puts toll at 60, Supreme Court says concerned over lives lost

He said that Rs 2 lakh will be paid to those whose houses were destroyed and the government would rebuild them.

“In the wake of the unfortunate incident that happened in Manipur, more than 20,000 people who were left stranded in relief camps have been moved to safety till today. Another 10,000 more stranded people will be transported to safety as soon as possible… Human lives are precious and destroying homes and properties are unacceptable,” Singh said.

He said 1,041 guns were looted from security personnel, of which 214 have been recovered. He asked those who looted the guns to return them at the nearest police station, failing which a “mass combing operation” would be launched.

The government has initiated many steps to bring back stranded people from different parts of the state such as Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Imphal West, Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts, he said. A cabinet panel has been formed to oversee the movement of the stranded people, he said.

Meanwhile, the Centre told the Supreme Court that the state was “returning to normalcy”, and no violence had been reported over the last two days.

The Bench, led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, emphasised the need to take “all necessary precautions for the rehabilitation of the displaced persons”, “protect places of religious worship”, and ensure “due arrangements in relief camps to provide all basic amenities”.

The Bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, was hearing two petitions – one filed by the Manipur Tribal Forum, Delhi, seeking a probe by a special investigation team into the flare-up; and another filed by Manipur MLA and Chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) Dinganglung Gangmei, challenging the Manipur High Court’s March 27 order asking the state government to submit a recommendation on Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community.

The Bench asked why the original petitioners who had approached the Manipur HC seeking ST status for Meiteis had not told the HC that it does not have the power to recommend reservation. “You never told the HC that it doesn’t have this power… It’s a presidential power,” the CJI told Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared for the original petitioners.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, told the Bench that the state government “is taking appropriate steps in respect of the March 27, 2023 order of a single judge of the High Court by moving the competent forum in that regard”.

Mehta also placed on record a statement on the steps being taken to restore normalcy. “52 companies of central armed police forces and 105 columns of the Army/ Assam Rifles, have been deployed in Manipur and flag marches have been conducted in disturbed areas,” said the statement.

Peace meetings have been held and constant vigil is being maintained, including deployment of helicopters and drones, to monitor the situation, it said. Relief camps have been opened for displaced persons, and movement of stranded persons is being facilitated through the security forces, it added.

“As a consequence of the steps which have been adopted, no violence has been reported in the state in the course of the previous two days,” said Mehta. “The situation is gradually returning to normalcy. Curfew was relaxed today for a period of four hours across the state,” he said, adding that it was relaxed for a few hours on Sunday too.

Appearing for the Manipur Tribal Forum, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves said notwithstanding what Mehta had said, the state saw killings and burnings over the last three days too. He sought immediate evacuation from some areas.

The Bench, however, told him: “Our immediate target is protection… stabilisation. We are concerned with the humanitarian problem”.

“We are concerned very deeply about the loss of life, about the loss of property. We must also, having expressed our concern, leave it to the government to take action because ultimately we can’t say go to this area with so much equipment. The government has to enforce our concerns which are really the concerns of every citizen. And we have no reason to doubt that they are doing it,” said the CJI.

“All that we are trying to say is you may flag your concerns in an appropriate manner so that this proceeding before the SC does not become another ground for destabilisation,” he told Gonsalves.

Following Mehta’s submission, the Bench said in its order: “During the hearing, counsel appearing on behalf of the contesting parties have expressed their concerns over the need to preserve law and order and, in particular, to provide adequate relief and rehabilitation measures. The SG has assured the court that the concerns which have been raised in the course of the petition and in the additional affidavit which has been filed in the proceedings shall be duly taken note of and such remedial steps as are required would be adopted on a proactive basis”.

The Bench posted the pleas for further hearing on May 17, and asked the Centre and the state to file updated status reports.

Earlier in the day, Kuldiep Singh, Security Advisor to the Manipur government, put the toll at 65. Addressing a press conference, he said: “The death toll is being reported at 65, but verified deaths in violence are 37. Today also, we have recovered three bodies from the jungle. They have not even been identified — who they are, where they came from. So verification is taking time. Once they are verified, only then we can let you know that it’s because of the violence,” he said.

He said that 208 FIRs had been registered and 28 people arrested. “We have already started the efforts of identifying the miscreants. We are conducting raids but a majority of them are not available at their homes… 215 arms looted from the police have been recovered till date,” he said.

“Efforts we are making include flag march, area domination, patrols, measures for building the confidence of the people, peace committee meetings as well as meeting important community leaders from different areas,” he said.

He said mobile internet access, which had been suspended in the state when violence flared last week, should resume in two-four days. Security forces, though, will remain in place. He also said efforts were being made to crack down on those spreading rumours using old or unrelated videos of violence. —With PTI