IMPHAL, 15 Sep: As many as 175 people have been killed and 1,108 others injured, while 32 are missing in the ethnic strife that has rocked Manipur since early May, police said.
Altogether, 4,786 houses were set on fire and 386 religious structures vandalised, they said.
Addressing a press conference here, IGP (Operations) IK Muivah said, “In this challenging time that Manipur is in, we can reassure the public that the police, central forces and the civil administration are trying round-the-clock to bring normalcy back.”
Of the weapons that have been ‘lost’, 1,359 firearms and 15,050 ammunition were recovered, Muivah said on Thursday.
A large number of arms and ammunition of the police have allegedly been looted by rioters during the violence.
As many as 5,172 arson cases were reported, Muivah said, adding that 386 religious structures – 254 churches and 132 temples – were vandalised.
“Security barricades from Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district to Kangvai in Churachandpur district have been removed, while security has been provided on national highways,” he said.
IGP (Administration) K Jayanta said that, of the 175 people who died, nine are still unidentified.
“Seventy-nine of the bodies have been claimed while 96 remain unclaimed. At RIMS and JNIMS (hospitals in Imphal), 28 and 26 bodies have been kept, respectively, while 42 are at Churachandpur hospital,” he informed.
Jayanta said that 9,332 cases have been registered and 325 people arrested.
Meanwhile, IGP (Zone 3) Nishit Ujjwal said that NH 32 and NH 2 are functioning normally.
Ethnic violence broke out in the state on 3 May. (PTI)
