Four Meitei were killed and widespread unrest erupted in Bishnupur district on Tuesday after a bomb attack and subsequent clashes, authorities said, prompting a curfew and suspension of internet and mobile data in several valley districts. Police said a five-year-old boy and his five‑month‑old sister were killed when a bomb tore through their bedroom at about 1:10 a.m.; two other people later died and five were injured when security forces fired to disperse protests.
The two children were identified as Oinam Tomthin and his infant sister Oinam Yaisana. Their mother, nurse Pheiroijam Binita, was critically injured and is being treated in an Imphal hospital. Binita had returned to the family home in Bishnupur with the children for a religious function; her husband, Oinam Mangal, serves with the BSF and is posted in Bihar, police said. Security personnel later recovered an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and an improvised explosive device (IED) near the house.
News of the blast drew large crowds to Tronglaobi area at dawn. Angry residents then stormed a CRPF camp near Gelmol, a few hundred metres from the blast site, and protesters set up roadblocks across parts of the Imphal valley. Officials said the CRPF fired to quell the unrest; two people were killed and five injured in the firing.
To contain the situation, the state government ordered suspension of internet and mobile data services for five days in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur. A curfew was also imposed in Bishnupur district as security forces moved to restore order. Miscreants were also reported to have set fire to three oil tankers at the Moirang Oil Pump Station that were carrying supplies to Churachandpur.
Meitei organisations accused members of the Kuki community of responsibility for the blast. The Kuki Zo Council denied any involvement, saying buffer zones guarded by security forces make such infiltration unlikely; the council condemned the killings and urged restraint.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the Tronglaobi blast has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), calling the attack “the handiwork of elements with vested interests in disturbing peace,” according to a state government statement. A large combing operation involving state police, Assam Rifles and the CRPF, backed by helicopters, is underway. Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh called the perpetrators “peace disruptors” and said the chief minister had ordered security officers to capture those responsible “dead or alive.” The chief minister, who visited the injured mother in hospital, said restoring peace and normalcy “remains the government’s top priority.”
The violence comes as Manipur remains tense since the Kuki‑Meitei conflict began on May 3, 2023, which has left more than 260 people dead and displaced roughly 60,000, and has in recent months seen clashes also involving the Naga community.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/tragic-blast-claims-lives-of-two-minors-in-renewed-manipur-violence-amidst-ongoing-ethnic-tensions/articleshow/130095453.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-04-08 00:14:00
