MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2023) Three people have been killed in fresh clashes in India's Manipur state, where ethnic violence broke out in May, state police said on Saturday.
"Three persons including a father-son duo were killed by militants in Manipur's Bishnupur district late night on August 4," the police was quoted as saying by the Hindu news agency.
The three were staying in a relief camp amid ethnic clashes but had moved to their homes on Friday after the situation improved, Manipur police added, noting that the assailants came from the neighboring Churachandpur district.
Violent clashes erupted in Manipur in early May after the Meitei people demanded that they be recognized as a scheduled tribe in India. This demand provoked a protest from the Kuki people, the state's indigenous population.
According to state authorities, 142 people were killed, 17 went missing, 5,053 cases of arson were reported, 181 people were arrested and 6,745 people were detained as a result of the clashes.
Inclusion in India's list of scheduled castes and tribes provides a group with opportunities for preferential employment in state-owned enterprises, places in state universities and other benefits.
