Manipur: 2 more arrested for arson at residences of MLAs

IMPHAL — Two more persons were arrested in Manipur for allegedly being involved in vandalism and arson at residences of legislators in Imphal Valley on November 16, police said on Saturday.

With these arrests, the number of people apprehended for arson at the residences of MLAs reached 34, a senior officer said.

Police also said that they are examining inputs and looking for additional suspects in various localities of Imphal Valley for arson incidents on November 16.

An investigation into the incidents of vandalism and arson at the residences of legislators is underway, the officer said.

The violence escalated after three women and three children belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam district after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.

Bodies of those six were later found.

Mobs set fire to the residences of three BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley where an indefinite curfew has been clamped.

At least 258 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.