Former lawmaker’s wife killed in bomb blast in India’s Manipur
►► A blast inside the house of a former lawmaker in India’s northeastern state of Manipur killed his wife, police said Sunday.
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New Delhi –  The blast went off inside the house of former lawmaker Yamthong Haokip in Kangpokpi district of the state. « A locally made Improvised explosive device (IED) had been placed among waste material at the house, which exploded with a bang when the deceased burned the waste material. She was grievously wounded and was rushed to a local hospital, but she succumbed there, » a police official said.
Police said Yamthong and his daughter were also at the residence but they escaped unhurt. According to the officials, the former lawmaker is from the tribal Kuki community and his 59-year-old wife belonged to Meitei community.
Local media reports said Yamthong Haokip ahead of 2022 local elections had switched to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Congress party. The incident comes amid the ongoing ethnic clashes between the two communities.
On Friday, three persons were killed during a gunfight between the members of the insurgent group United Kuki Liberation Front and Kuki village volunteers in the Tengnoupal district.
Manipur has been on edge since May 3 last year when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meitei community for a scheduled tribe status, designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.
Last year the ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority have displaced over 60,000.
More than 5,000 weapons were also taken away from various police stations and other places in the state following violence. From both communities, armed men calling themselves « village defence volunteers » are often attacking each other and government forces.
The state has been witnessing gunfights and killings between these rival armed groups. Violence so far has claimed over 200 lives and injured over 1,100. Efforts by the federal government to restore peace in the state have not yielded the desired results.
by Xinhua
