Will Talk To Warring Groups To Bridge Divide: Amit Shah After Manipur Meet

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital to review the security situation in the conflict-hit Manipur and directed officials to take strict action against those who indulge in violence.

The state has been fractured along ethnic lines after fighting broke out last year between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, displacing thousands.

The Home Minister said that the Ministry will talk to both groups, Meities and Kukis, so as to bridge the ethnic divide, read a statement from his office.

Mr Shah mentioned in the meeting that the "central forces will be increased if required" to restore peace and tranquility in the state.

The meeting comes a day after Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uike called on the Home Minister at his office.

The state was represented by Advisor to the state Kuldiep Singh and Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi. Chief Minister N Biren Singh was not present at the meeting.

The meeting was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs as fresh violence was reported in the northeastern state.

In fresh violence, several houses belonging to both Meitei and Kuki communities were burned by unknown miscreants in Kotlen following the murder of a person earlier this month, the Manipur Police said.

Around 600 people from Manipur's Jiribam area are now taking shelter in Assam's Cachar district following fresh violence reported in Manipur's Jiribam area.

The Centre is worried that tension is erupting in new areas in the state - Jiribam being the latest example.

The Home Minister also reviewed the situation of relief camps, and directed that there should be proper availability of food, water, medicines and other basic amenities

NDTV has learnt that the DGP of the state, Rajiv Singh, made a presentation on the present situation.

"State police has posted adequate forces in Jiribam area after clashes started," a senior officer who attended the meeting told NDTV.

The meeting holds significance as last week RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also hinted that a peaceful solution should be attained in the conflict-hit state.

"In last one year the divide in both communities has cemented further and efforts which should be made by state or centre to bridge the gaps is missing," an officer on ground told NDTV.

The looted weapons, says the officer, have not found their way back to the police armoury.

"In fact armed extortions in the state are rapidly rising," he said.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau Chief Tapan Deka, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chief (Designate) Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, Assam Rifles DG Pradeep Chandran Nair, among others, attended the meeting.