Mizoram Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena has appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a ‘joint parliamentary team’ to conduct an independent probe into the violence in Manipur.
In his letter to PM Modi, the Mizoram MP said, “I request that a joint parliamentary team be formed in which Christian MPs are also included and sent to the affected areas to carry out an independent investigation on the entire sequence of events so that the truth may be unearthed and justice is delivered.”
In his letter, Vanlalvena also pointed out that over 42 churches, including six belonging to the Meitei Christians, were burned down besides houses, shops and vehicles belonging to the tribal community during the mob violence in Imphal.
“It is evident that the seemingly random act of violence was not a spontaneous burst of outrage by one community against another but instead it was a calculated and pre-meditated move to specifically target the Christian community, including the local Meitei Christians, which shook one of the main foundations of our Constitution- ‘Secularism,'” he said.
Violence in Manipur erupted on May 3 after tribals organized a demonstration in the ten hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The clashes displaced around 23,000 people and resulted in the deaths of several people.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed to the people of the state to bring peace and calm following ethnic violence that claimed around 60 lives, left 231 people injured, and saw around 1700 houses burnt down.
Meanwhile, the Assam Police has released two helpline numbers for the people of the state stuck in violence-hit Manipur. The helpline numbers released by Assam Police are 1079 and 1070.
