Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said a judicial probe headed by a retired High Court Chief Justice to inquire into the Manipur violence, will soon be announced. Shah also announced that a CBI probe will be instituted to probe five criminal conspiracies and one general conspiracy behind the violence in Manipur.
Speaking at a press conference in Imphal on Thursday, the last day of his visit to the violence-hit northeastern state, Shah said that a peace committee under the Governor of Manipur, Anusuiya Uikey, which will have representatives of all political parties, besides representatives from both Kuki and Meitei communities and social organisations, will also be set up.
He also said that the government is committed to restoring peace in the state as soon as possible, adding that dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur.
“We will soon announce a judicial probe headed by a retired high court chief justice and set up a peace committee,” he said.
“Manipur has remained calm since BJP came to power in the state. We have ensured development and welfare for people,” Shah added, and assured that the situation will soon turn normal.
Shah also announced that the Centre and the Manipur government will give Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the families of the deceased in the ethnic violence, which rocked the state since May, claiming over 80 lives, reported The Indian Express.
He called the Manipur High Court’s decision, which asked the BJP-led state government to submit a recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meitei community, as a hasty decision which led to a conflict between the Kuki and Meiti communities in Manipur.
Ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.