NEW DELHI: A mob set the house of India’s junior foreign minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on fire in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur amid continuing ethnic violence there.
Singh, who is a minister of state for external affairs, expressed shock over the attack on his residence in Manipur’s capital Imphal and said that law and order has “totally failed” in the state.
A crowd of more than 1,000 people managed to reach the minister’s house despite a curfew, according to local media reports.
“We couldn’t prevent the incident as the mob was overwhelming and we couldn’t control the situation. They threw petrol bombs coming in from all directions,” a security official said.
Earlier this week, the official residence of Manipur’s industry minister Nemcha Kipgen in Imphal’s Lamphel area was set ablaze.
Clashes between the majority Meitei community and tribal groups, including Kuki and Naga people, erupted after a “tribal solidarity march” was organised on May 3.
The tribal communities oppose the Meitei demand for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category status, which would give the Meiteis additional benefits in government jobs, education and access to hill and forest lands where Kukis and tribal groups are dominant.
About 100 people have died and more than 50,000 left homeless in the conflict.
And in Srinagar, India, five suspected militants were killed Friday in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir near the heavily militarised frontier that divides the disputed territory with Pakistan, police said.
Police chief Vijay Kumar said on Twitter the “foreign terrorists” died during a clash with government forces in the forested Jumagund area, around 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Srinagar.
The incident could not independently be verified by AFP.
It came two days after two suspected rebels were killed in the same area following an attempt by an armed group to cross over from Pakistan, officials said.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the partition of both countries at the end of the British colonial era in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.
Tens of thousands have died since the 1989 start of an insurgency by rebels seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, and India has more than half a million troops stationed in the Himalayan territory.
But the frequency of armed clashes between Indian soldiers and insurgents has dropped significantly in recent years as India works to fortify its rule over the territory.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government suddenly cancelled Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.
New laws have permitted Indians outside the territory to resettle there, a policy denounced by critics as “settler colonialism”.
India has sought to portray the return of “normalcy” to the restive region and last month hosted a G20 tourism meeting in regional capital Srinagar.
Eleven government troops, 17 suspected rebels and 10 civilians have been killed in violence so far this year.
Last year, at least 223 combatants and 30 civilians died in the region, according to official records.
India accuses Pakistan of helping rebel groups who have waged a popular insurgency for decades.
Islamabad denies the charge, saying it provides political and moral support to a Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.
