New Delhi: The official residence of Nemcha Kipgen, the only female minister in Manipur, was burnt down by attackers on the evening of Wednesday, June 14, as ethnic violence continues between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.Kigpen, who is the state’s industry minister and the MLA from the Kangpokpi constituency, was not at home at the time of the incident. The bungalow is located in the Lamphel area of Imphal West district.According to NDTV, the security forces, accompanied by senior officials, arrived at the scene and initiated a search operation.Elected to the state assembly in last year’s elections, Kipgen is the sole woman in N. Biren Singh’s 12-member cabinet. She was a minister in the first Biren Singh government as well. She is one of ten Kuki MLAs who have raised the demand for a separate administration and is affiliated with the BJP.The Kangpokpi area is predominantly inhabited by tribal communities. On Tuesday night, at least nine people were killed in the district. While the village, Aigijang, where the killings took place is reportedly a Kuki village, the bodies recovered reportedly belong to Meitei men.The police claimed they were “local volunteers” – which is a term that has been used over the past few weeks to describe armed men who claim to be defending their communities.According to India Today, several houses were burnt down in Khamenlok village, and several people were injured in Gobajang, Tamenglong district.The report said that Manipur’s security advisor Kuldiep Singh revealed that a total of 1040 arms, 13,601 ammunition, and 230 different types of bombs have been recovered.
