Internet services were suspended in Ukhrul district for five days after arson and firing near Litan, with curfew imposed and security tightened.
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IMPHAL — Internet services have been suspended in Ukhrul district of Manipur for five days with immediate effect following fresh reports of arson and firing, even as security forces deployed in the area imposed curfew and set up a joint control room to coordinate operations.
According to an order issued on Tuesday, the suspension of internet services in the entire revenue jurisdiction of Ukhrul district will take effect from 11:30 am.
Issuing the order, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Home) N Ashok Kumar said the state government, after reviewing the prevailing law and order situation and its possible correlation with the operation of internet services, decided to order “temporary suspension/curbing of internet/data services including services through broadband, VPN and VSAT” for five days as a preventive and precautionary measure.
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The order followed a request from Ukhrul Deputy Commissioner Asish Das, who had written to the Home Department seeking suspension of internet services in the district in view of the prevailing law and order situation.
The move came after fresh incidents of arson and firing were reported in and around Litan area of Ukhrul district. Many residents of Litan reportedly fled to safer places following the violence, even as security personnel were deployed in the area.
Although reports indicated that around 30 houses had been torched till Monday, the exact number of houses damaged so far in the ongoing unrest was not immediately known.
Police said a Joint Control Room has been set up at Litan Police Station to coordinate and implement urgent security measures and to facilitate communication among forces deployed in the area. Senior officers are camping in Litan and closely monitoring the situation on the ground, a police press note issued late Monday stated.
Police also said that a few houses were burnt by miscreants in villages around Litan on Sunday night. Preventive measures, including the imposition of curfew and deployment of adequate security forces in affected areas, have been taken to prevent further escalation of violence.
In a separate development, security forces rescued two truck drivers who were stranded after their vehicle broke down at Lamlai Chingphei Kuki village under Litan Police Station. They were safely escorted to Yaingangpokpi Police Station, police said, adding that the rescue operation helped prevent any further escalation in the area.
Litan, a small commercial hill station located about 40 km northeast of Imphal along the Imphal–Ukhrul road, has witnessed a series of violent incidents following clashes between Tangkhul and Kuki groups on Sunday night. The district administration had imposed prohibitory orders in the area from 7 pm on Sunday until further orders.