Guwahati, 15th June 2023: The mansion of Manipur’s sole female minister was set on fire, providing yet another example of the state’s ongoing violence. Late last evening, the bungalow of Industry Minister Nemcha Kipgen in Imphal West district’s Lamphel region was targeted.
Kipgen, according to officials, was not at home at the time.
Security forces commanded by senior authorities raced to the scene and began searching. Kipgen, elected to the state parliament last year from the tribally dominated Kangpokpi assembly constituency, is the sole woman minister in Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s 12-member administration. She is one of the ten Kuki MLAs that have called for a separate administration, as are seven other Kuki MLAs from BJP.
Nine individuals have been killed in the last 24 hours, one of whom is a woman. According to army officials, most were killed in a late-night shooting incident in the Khamenlok neighbourhood.
The attacks represent a major blow for the state, which has been tense for more than a month owing to ethnic hostilities between the Meitei and Kuki groups.
Both Kukis and Meities have decided to boycott the government’s peace programme. Initially, Kuki factions were outraged by the participation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Soon after, one of the biggest Meitei civil society organisations vigorously opposed the appointment of its convenor, Jeetendra Ningomba, as a member. The Meitei movement has now denied being a member of the peace committee.
