MHA Seeks Report From Manipur Governor After Fresh Violence; Congress MP To Raise Issue In Parliament
Unidentified assailants on Tuesday opened fire on civilians in Torbung area where a resettlement of inernally displaced people was ongoing.
Published : December 18, 2025 at 6:26 PM IST
New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked for a report from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla even as a Congress Member of Parliament will meet union Home Minister Amit Shah and raise his voice in the ongoing session of the Parliament over the fresh violence that took place at Bishnupur recently.
"The Home Ministry has asked for a report over the violence that took place on December 16 from the Manipur Governor," a senior government official said.
The development comes after unidentified armed assailants on Tuesday December 16 evening opened fire on civilians who had returned to their homes in Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai area in Bishnupur district of Manipur after years of displacement in relief camps. One unidentified civilian was reportedly injured in the incident.
The incident took place after the state had witnessed a lull in violence ever since the President Rules was imposed in the State in February.
“Yes, the home ministry can definitely ask for a report over the incident from Manipur Governor as the Governor is the present custodian of the State,” said renowned security expert and former Sikkim director general of police Avinash Mohanany to ETV Bharat.
To lodge a formal complaint over the issue, Bimol Akoijam, Congress MP from Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency will also meet Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi besides raising the issue in the ongoing session of the Parliament.
“I will raise the incident of violence in Manipur in the Parliament. The attack on resettled internally displaced people (IDPs) shows failure in disarming armed groups,” Akoijam told ETV Bharat.
He said that there was a coordinated attack on recently resettled internally displaced persons, which is deeply disturbing.
“It indicates that the disarming of armed elements has not been properly carried out, and the government must take appropriate action,” Akoijam said.
Meanwhile, Manipur police lodged an FIR in connection with Tuesday's firing. “Security has been beefed up in and around the area, and joint security forces are carrying out intensive combing operations and area domination to ensure the safety of the public. DIG concerned and other senior police officers visited the site of the incident and took stock of the prevailing situation,” the Manipur police said.
During extensive search operations of the area one long range improvised 'pumpi'(improvised, homemade mortar cannons), four medium range improvised pumpi, one medium range barrel-blasted improvised pumpi, one IED weighing approximately 3 kgs, one single barrel firearm, 17 empty cases of different calibers were also recovered.
Resettlement Of Internally Displaced People
At least 97 families comprising 389 members with 187 male and 202 female were returned to their home at Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district, a Meitei-majority region bordering Kuki-Zo-dominated Churachandpur.
Phougakchao Ikhai had earlier emerged as one of the flashpoints during the ethnic violence that broke out on May 3, 2023. That violence claimed over 260 lives and displaced an estimated 62,000 people across the state.
Despite government assurances, most displaced families from both the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities continue to live in relief camps spread across Manipur. The state administration has announced a three-phase resettlement plan, aiming to complete the process by December this year.
Meitei Alliance of UK, USA, Canada, Europe Condemns Firing
The Meitei alliance has condemned the attack on the civilians who had just returned to their homes in Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai area after years of displacement in relief camps.
“These unarmed civilians - families, elderly persons, and children - were subjected to indiscriminate firing and bomb attacks, barely hours after their return, turning a fragile step toward peace into a night of terror. This attack was a deliberate, organised, and premeditated act of terror as part of the wider ethnocentric politics that caused the Manipur crisis, carried out with the clear intent to instill fear, sabotage reconciliation, and violently prevent displaced citizens from exercising their fundamental right to return to their homes,” a spokesperson of the Meitei alliance said.
The timing of the attack - occurring immediately after a high-level security review by the Director General of Police and under the direct administration of President’s Rule - represents a grave and alarming failure of governance, intelligence, and civilian protection, it said.
Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity Demands Strong Action
In a letter issued to Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh on Thursday, the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) demanded strong action against the culprits.
“The attack was a part of a continuing pattern of armed aggression in the region that exposes persistent security failures and the inability to neutralise armed groups operating with impunity. Identify, apprehend, and prosecute those responsible for the attack,” said Khuraijam Athouba, COCOMI convenor.
Reaction of Kuki-Zo Council
The Kuki-Zo Council expressed grave concern over the incident that occurred at “Torbung buffer zone”.
“It must be recalled that the violence of May 3, 2023 originated in Torbung, Churachandpur—an extremely sensitive area where both Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities once lived. Torbung area also witnessed the first killing of the conflict, when Pastor Sehkhohao Kipgen was brutally beaten to death in broad daylight,” Ginza Vualzong, secretary, information & publicity, Kuki-Zo Council said.
He said that the decision of the Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur to flag off resettlement of Meitei IDPs in the Torbung buffer zone is deeply irresponsible and provocative.
“A sensitive administration would have avoided resettlement in such a volatile area. Allowing Meitei IDPs to resettle in the buffer zone amounts to inviting renewed conflict. Previous attempts by Meitei IDPs to breach the Torbung buffer zone during the Sangai Festival further point to a pattern of provocation. The Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur must take responsibility and roll back the resettlement in this volatile area to avoid further escalation,” Ginza said.
Meeting Between MHA And Militant Groups
The second round of talks between home ministry and representatives of the Kuki-Zo groups including Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF) under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) framework and officials of Manipur Government held in New Delhi recently discussed on the demand raised by the SoO groups.
“Discussions focused on the demand for Union Territory with Legislature for the Kuki-Zo people,” a spokesperson of the SoO said.
President Rule in Manipur
The central government has imposed President Rule in Manipur since February 13 this year following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The State has been witnessing violence between Kuki and Meitei communities since May 2023.
MHA Grants 4th Extension To Probe Panel
The Ministry of Home Affairs recently granted fourth extension to a three-member Commission of Inquiry to submit its probe report in connection with the Manipur violence. The panel headed by former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba has retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar as its other two members. The MHA in a notification asked the commission to submit its probe report by or before May 20, 2026. The CoI was formed by the Centre on June 4, 2023 to probe the ethnic violence.
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