School set on fire in Manipur amid simmering tension

GUWAHATI: Miscreants set ablaze a private educational institution in Manipur’s Jiribam district during the early hours of Friday amid escalating tension in certain Manipur regions.

Law enforcement authorities later said the incident might have stemmed from conflicting circumstances within the school’s management. However, Hmar organisations accused militants of perpetrating the arson attack on the renowned school situated in Kalinagar in Jiribam town.

“Some nefarious elements must be responsible for this incident, but we are not considering it from a communal perspective. It was likely a consequence of personal or management-related disputes,” a police officer said, adding that other angles are also being probed.

Following discussions hosted by the Union home ministry in New Delhi earlier this week with Meitei, Kuki-Zo-Hmar, and Naga MLAs, there has been simmering tension in certain parts of Manipur.

The school — Blooming Flower School — is located in Jiribam town, an area predominantly inhabited by tribal communities. A similar arson incident occurred in Kalinagar in June 2024, where scores of houses belonging to Hmar individuals were torched by unknown miscreants.

Within two days of the meeting, suspected militants opened fire from the hills of Kangpokpi district towards Koutruk village in Imphal West on Wednesday night, which persisted for approximately three hours until 2 am on Thursday. In light of the potential breach of law and order, the district administration of Churachandpur has imposed prohibition orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita for three days since Wednesday evening.

The Hmar Inpui, the apex body of the Hmar tribe, alleged the involvement of Meitei outfits behind the act in Jiribam.


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