Mobile Internet Services In Manipur Suspended For 5 Days Following Protests In Imphal

The Manipur government on Tuesday reimposed the ban on internet services for the next five days, soon after police baton-charged students in Imphal during a demonstration against the alleged kidnapping and death of two youths.

The police action left 45 students, many of them girls, injured, officials said.

''The state government decides to suspend/curb the mobile internet data services, internet/data services through VPN in the territorial jurisdiction of the state of Manipur for five days with immediate effect till 7:45 pm of October 1, 2023,'' a notification said.

Over 45 students were injured in police action and admitted to various private and government hospitals in Imphal East and West districts, officials of the medical facilities said. Of them, 31 are being treated in a private hospital, 12 others are in two government facilities. Two others were admitted to another private hospital.

All schools in the state will be closed till Friday in view of the prevailing situation. Because of the prevailing law and order situation, the state government in a notification declared that all government and private schools will be closed on Wednesday and Friday.
Thursday is a public holiday in the state on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.

Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since early May. More than 175 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.