In this picture released on April 1, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh during a meeting. Image: X/@HMOIndia via PTI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) asked Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh to expedite the ongoing peace process in the state and approve the creation of an all-women police battalion, according to a Manipur government statement.
Mr. Singh called the Home Minister to Parliament House where the two leaders discussed the law and order situation in the state.
During the meeting, Mr. Shah asked the Chief Minister to speed up the peace process and consolidate the growing bonhomie between the various communities, the statement said.
“After reviewing the prevailing security scenario in Manipur with the Chief Minister, Mr. Shah agreed in principle to raise the Mahila India Reserve Battalion (IRB) for the state and asked Mr. Singh to send a proposal,” the statement said.
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities erupted in the state on May 3, 2023 and has so far claimed about 250 lives. The state was under President’s rule on February 13, 2024, and Mr. Singh assumed the office of Chief Minister on February 4 this year.
Meanwhile, the funeral of Vungzagin Valte, the BJP MLA from Manipur, who was attacked by a mob in Imphal on May 4, 2023 and died in a hospital in Haryana’s Gurugram on February 21, is yet to take place.
His body is preserved in the Churachandpur District Hospital Mortuary.
Family members and Zomi community leaders set certain conditions before performing the last rites. To press their demands – including a National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation into the attack and a political solution – the Zomi Coordination Committee (ZCC) was formed.
On 31 March, the ZCC said that the Zomi month-long national mourning held in honor of the MLA had ended and that if the relevant authorities did not have a meaningful response to the issues of justice and accountability, pro-democracy agitations would begin in the Zomi areas in phases and in a coordinated manner with immediate effect.
Published – 01 Apr 2026 23:17 IST
