New Delhi: Indefinite curfew was imposed in the Lilong assembly constituency in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Monday (April 7), after a mob set ablaze the house of the state president of BJP minority morcha on Sunday (April 6).The incident took place after Manipur BJP minority morcha president Mohammed Asker Ali posted on social media supporting the passing of the Waqf Bill (now an Act after being passed in the Parliament and getting the nod of the President)“Do not do politics on Waqf Amendment Bill. Welcome Bill. We support WAB,” said Ali in the social media post, reported Indian Express.Thereafter, a mob of around 7,000 people armed with sticks and stones stormed into Ali’s house and set it on fire.Subhash Singh, Thoubal’s District Magistrate, said that the curfew was imposed indefinitely under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in the entire constituency after a report from the district’s Superintendent of Police, reported The Hindu.Thoubal is situated in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley. Pangals, or Manipuri Muslims, are a majority in Lilong.Following the incident, Ali apologised to the community for his social media post and changed his stance on the Waqf Bill.“I sincerely apologise to the Muslims and Meitei Pangal community. I will not repeat such an act in the future. I oppose the Waqf Bill passed in Parliament, and it should be repealed immediately.”
