Internet services suspended in Manipur 2 days after resumption
The temporary suspension/curbing of mobile internet data services and internet/data services in Manipur will last for five days till October 1, a government order stated.
Internet services have been suspended in Manipur two days after they were renewed in the strife-torn state. The suspension followed disturbing images, depicting before and after the gruesome killing of two students who had gone missing since July 6, that surfaced online.
The temporary suspension/curbing of mobile internet data services and internet/data services in Manipur will last for five days till 7:45 pm on October 1, a government order stated.
Following massive public outrage in Imphal on Tuesday, after the bodies of the two Meitei teenagers went viral on social media platforms, the government of Manipur ordered a temporary shutdown of internet services in the state.
"In view of the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur, the state government views very seriously with utmost sensitivity the reported spread of disinformation, false rumours and other types of violent activities through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. which may cause loss and/or damage to public/private property or aggravates the law and order situation in Manipur," the government order cited.
WHAT HAPPENED IN LAST TWO DAYS IN MANIPUR
Since May this year, Manipur has been engulfed in ethnic violence between the majority Meiti and the minority Kuki.
The internet shutdown began in the districts of Churachandpur and Pherzawl on April 28 and was extended to the entire state on May 3. In July, broadband services were resumed in Manipur with specific conditions and an undertaking to be signed by the users, the state's home department said in an order. At that time, mobile internet services were still suspended.
On Saturday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that internet services would be fully restored in the state from the same day onwards. The internet was restored after the Chief Minister said that the situation had been "improving".
On Tuesday, images of two Manipuri students, who were reported missing since July 6, surfaced online.
One of the pictures showed the two students sitting on a grassy compound while two armed men can be seen behind them. In another picture, circulating on social media, the bodies of the two students can be seen. The students were identified as 17-year-old Hijam Linthoingambi and 20-year-old Phijam Hemjit.
After the pictures surfaced online, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh assured swift action and said that decisive action would be taken against all those involved in the kidnapping and killing of both students.
The case has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the protests against the killing of the two students sparked massive outrage in Manipur. Hundreds of students in Imphal took to the streets on 26 September against the killing of two students. It is said that the angry crowd was marching towards the Chief Minister's residence but was stopped by security forces, who resorted to tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse the crowd.
It is alleged that about 50 students were injured in a clash between police.
VIOLENCE-HIT MANIPUR
More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since violence broke out on May 3, when a "Tribal Solidarity March" was organised in the hill districts of Manipur to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of the state's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
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