Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 12 to discuss the Tronglaobi crisis, where a bomb attack on April 7 killed two children of a BSF jawan, triggering state-wide protests and a high-level security response.
IMPHAL — Against the backdrop of intense public agitation sweeping across the Imphal Valley in the wake of the Tronglaobi bombing, Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam travelled to New Delhi on Sunday night to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, discussing the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Posting on his social media account, Konthoujam said: "It was a privilege to call on Hon'ble Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, and deliberate on the prevailing situation in Manipur. We held a constructive discussion on strengthening peace, ensuring stability, and safeguarding the interests of the people."
The meeting comes in the direct aftermath of the Tronglaobi incident, which has emerged as the most significant flashpoint in Manipur since the reinstatement of the civilian government. In the early hours of April 7, a powerful explosion — suspected to be a rocket or mortar attack — struck a residence in Moirang Tronglaobi, Bishnupur district, at approximately 1:00 AM. The blast killed two minor children of a Meitei BSF jawan: a five-year-old boy and his five-month-old sister, who were asleep at the time. Their mother was critically injured. The attack occurred near the sensitive boundary between Meitei-dominated valley areas and Kuki-Zomi-dominated hill areas.
The incident triggered an immediate and furious public response. A mob of approximately 500 protesters attempted to storm a nearby CRPF camp at Gelmol, accusing the forces of failing to prevent the attack. Security forces opened fire and used smoke bombs to disperse the crowd, resulting in the deaths of three protesters and injuries to over 30 others by April 8.
Since then, massive candlelight vigils, torch rallies, and road blockades have swept across Imphal Valley districts including Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching. Civil society organisation COCOMI has called for continuous agitation until justice is delivered.
The state and central governments have responded on multiple fronts. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh announced on April 7 that the case would be handed over to the National Investigation Agency due to its "terror" nature. The state government also issued strict instructions to security forces to produce those responsible, dead or alive, within 24 hours, with central forces subsequently conducting operations — including helicopter-assisted missions — in the border areas of Churachandpur and Bishnupur. Restrictions previously placed on the movement of Manipur Police Commandos and IRB personnel in the hill areas were set aside specifically to pursue those involved in the attack.
On April 8, security forces arrested three members of the United Kuki National Army in Churachandpur district for questioning, along with weapons and opium, though the group has denied involvement. The government also suspended mobile data and internet services in five valley districts for three days beginning April 7 to prevent the spread of inflammatory content.
The Tronglaobi incident has erupted against an already fraught security environment. In early March, around 20 individuals, including an army jawan, were briefly taken captive near Shangkai village by Kuki groups before being released on March 12 following negotiations. On March 24, security forces destroyed 21 bunkers in coordinated raids in Ukhrul district. Protests demanding implementation of the National Register of Citizens before the next census turned violent in Imphal on March 11, with security forces deploying tear gas. As of April 11, Kuki civil society groups in Ukhrul had withdrawn free movement assurances on National Highway-202, citing economic restrictions hampering the supply of food and essentials. Over 60,000 people remain displaced and housed in relief camps across the state.
Adding to the grave security concerns gripping the state, BSF Constable Mithun Mandal of the 170 Battalion, a resident of West Bengal, was killed in the line of duty near the Litan bridge. Mandal was part of a Road Opening Party patrolling the area when, at approximately 4:45 PM, he was struck by a bullet fired from an unknown direction during an exchange of fire between village volunteers of the Kuki-Zo community of Mongkot Chepu and the Tangkhul Naga community of Shikibung. He was rushed to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal with a critical shoulder injury but succumbed to his wounds at around 6:00 PM.
In response, security forces launched a massive coordinated combing operation on April 11 and 12. A joint team of the Manipur Police, BSF, CRPF, and the Indian Army destroyed 21 illegal bunkers in Ukhrul district — 14 in Sikibung and 7 in Mongkot Chepu — and recovered 11 empty cartridge shells. The BSF has lodged an FIR at Litan Police Station against unknown armed miscreants for unprovoked firing. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh condemned the killing, paying floral tributes to the constable at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport before his remains were sent to West Bengal.
