Manipur Violence: 36,000 Security Personnel On Ground, Centre Sent 40 IPS Officers

131 deaths, 419 injured, 5,036 incidents of arson, and 5,889 FIRs: In all-party meet, home Minister Amit Shah shares plan for peace in Manipur.

At the all-party meeting on Manipur violence convened by Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday, most opposition parties demanded the removal of chief minister N Biren Singh for being "partisan and part of the problem". They also insisted the Centre put in place a "time-bound action plan" for peace so that the north-eastern state doesn't simmer again. 

The home ministry gave party representatives a detailed picture of the efforts made since the first instance of violence in the state on May 3, by deploying nearly 36,000 security personnel in the state and sending at least 40 IPS officers to monitor the situation closely.

Sources said senior home ministry officials gave a detailed presentation on the steps taken by the government so far, including Home Minister Amit Shah's three-day visit to Manipur. Apart from senior ministry officials and representatives of 18 political parties, BJP president JP Nadda, minister Prahlad Joshi and two junior Home Ministers, Nityanand Rai and Ajay Kumar Teni, were also present at the meeting.

The participants were told that till now, there have been 131 deaths in the state, while 419 have been injured, 5,036 incidents of arson reported and 5,889 cases of FIR registered, apart from 144 arrests. It was also mentioned that Manipur has had a history of ethnic clashes, and that there were 750 deaths in 1993, and similar clashes in 1997-98 too.