Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. File | Photo credit: ANI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (March 20, 2026) reviewed the security situation in Manipur, directing Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh to crack down on drug cartels and prioritize the resettlement of thousands of people displaced after ethnic violence erupted in the state on May 3, 2023, a government source said.
The meeting, the first since President’s Rule was lifted in the state, was convened in a hybrid mode with the Chief Minister joining virtually from Imphal. He was accompanied by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and senior officers, including Director General of Police Rajiv Singh.
The Manipur government has been asked to submit a detailed plan to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to combat drug smuggling.
During the meeting, the state administration was asked to quickly recover the stolen police weapons. In 2023, more than 6,000 police weapons were stolen and more than half were recovered by security agencies.
The ongoing tension between Kuki and Tangkhul Nagas in Manipur’s Ukhrul district was also discussed. The Litan area of Ukhrul district has witnessed a wave of violence and arson since February 7, three days after the new chief minister was appointed.
To revive the economy in the strife-torn state, the administration has reportedly been asked by the home minister to identify sick industrial units and prepare a plan to revive them.
Ethnic violence
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people has so far claimed about 250 lives. Thousands of properties were burned and more than 60,000 people were displaced from their homes. About 10,000 displaced people have reportedly been resettled in their homes. President’s Rule was imposed in the state on 13 February 2025.
Meanwhile, the Manipur chief minister is set to meet Henlianthang Thanglet, chairman of the Kuki Zo Council (KZC), a conglomerate of Kuki-Zo bodies, in Guwahati on Saturday (March 21, 2026) to discuss “matters related to restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur”.
The free movement of people from the Meitei and Kui-Zo communities in the valley and hill districts had just begun. Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki-Zo community, has yet to travel to Imphal and has been attending official meetings virtually, mostly from her residence in the hill district of Kangpokpi.
Published – 20 March 2026 23:05 IST
