NEW DELHI: Lawlessness has reached its peak in India’s troubled region Manipur where unknown armed men looted the Kangpokpi Branch of the Manipur State Cooperative Bank, local media reported on Wednesday.
Bank Looted in India’s Violence-hit Manipur
Local officials said that the cash vault was also broken by the unknown attackers while they also damaged the equipment and property of the bank’s branch.
India media reported that a complaint was also registered at the Kangpokpi Police Station after the robbery. Earlier, the Churachandpur Branch of Axis Bank at Thangzam Road and Tiddim Road were also looted by unknown armed men and also taken away with more than Rs 1 crore and gold.
The remote northeastern Indian state of Manipur is on the brink of civil war as armed mobs wreak havoc in villages, igniting ethnic tensions and pushing the region into a deadly conflict, Western media reported. The simmering tensions between the ethnic groups have escalated into a bloodletting that has left thousands displaced and dozens dead, with no end in sight.
The clash between the two ethnic groups, fueled by demands for special status and land ownership rights, has led to the formation of armed militias. These armed factions, representing different ethnic groups, have intensified the violence and deepened the divides that have long plagued the region.
Manipur, nestled in the mountains on the border with Myanmar, has a history of ethnic clashes, but the recent outbreak of killings, arson, and hate-fueled rampages has shocked India. Angry mobs and armed gangs have targeted villages and towns, leaving a trail of destruction and causing mass displacement. Witnesses report horrible acts of violence, including beheadings, bludgeoning, and the burning of victims.
The ethnic conflict, largely hidden from the rest of India due to a government-imposed internet ban, has pushed the region into an unseen war reminiscent of a civil war, as armed civilians fight against each other along ethnic lines.
