3-member panel to probe clash in Manipur village: CM

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh set up a three-member panel to probe into the clashes between two communities at Chassad village in the state's Kamjong district, warning strict action will be taken against those found to be involved in violence and arson. The three-member panel, comprising the Additional Chief Secretary, the Deputy Inspector General (Intelligence) and the Joint Secretary, has been asked to establish the course of the events that led to the clashes in the village, Singh told reporters late on Monday.

It will also identify those behind the incidents of violence that left several houses damaged, he added. The chief minister said that his government will repair the houses which were torched, as well as provide financial assistance to the affected people.

However, normalcy has returned to the area after adequate security forces have been deployed and a "peace committee" comprising members from the two warring groups have been formed, ADGP (L&O) L. Kailun said on Tuesday. Clashes broke out between the two communities on Monday, which police suspect was due to a land dispute, prompting the district administration to clamp prohibitory orders under section 144 Crpc at Chassad-Kamjong and along the main road of the Sampui area in the hill district.

Mobile internet services, which were suspended on Monday across the state following the violence, has been restored on Tuesday evening as the "situation has improved", officials said. A ministerial team, led by deputy chief minister Y Jaykumar, has already visited the area.

The two communities were engaged in a deadly ethnic clash in the 1990s during which more than 1,000 people were killed and at least 1 lakh displaced..