A tense Sunday unfolded for Manipur as more riots and fires were reported, including the targeting of the houses of several lawmakers and demonstrations despite the curfew, even as the bodies of two victims of a family that lost six members to militant attacks were found with injuries bloody, a discovery that could further inflame ethnic conflict.

The rapidly deteriorating situation prompted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to call it off Election rallies in Maharashtra and rush back to Delhi for emergency meetings with security officials. Shah will chair a detailed review meeting at North Block on Monday as the Center struggles to contain the violence. The government has also sent CRPF Director General Anish Dayal Singh to Manipur.

The ripples have rocked political alignments with the National People’s Party (NPP), which has seven MLAs in the 60-member assembly, on Sunday withdrawing its support to the BJP-led government in Manipur, claiming that N Biren Singh dispensation has “completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy” in the northeastern state.

While the NPP movement will not threaten the government as it has a majority of its own in the assembly, the deepening crisis threatened to spark dissension within the BJP after a ruling MLA, speaking anonymously, told HT that “two MLAs have left for the national . capital on Sunday night to discuss the crisis’ and 19 in total are considering resigning. “There is no point in continuing to be a lawmaker in this situation,” a lawmaker told HT on condition of anonymity.

Reacting to the escalating crisis, former Manipur CM and senior Congress leader O Ibobi Singh on Sunday blamed the state and central governments for worsening the situation.

In a press conference at his residence, Ibobi said: “The ongoing unrest in the state is a direct result of the failure of governance both at the state and central levels. If the governments had been competent, the situation would not have reached this stage”.

On demands for Biren Singh’s resignation and imposition of President’s Rule, Ibobi remarked, “Demands for Biren Singh’s resignation are an internal matter of the BJP. As far as the President’s Government is concerned, the people of Manipur do not support it. This crisis must be addressed through constitutional means, not through central rules.”

Key triggers include the discovery on Sunday of the bodies of a 65-year-old woman and her two-and-a-half-year-old grandson floating in the Barak River in Assam’s Cachar district, about 30 km from where the violence erupted. in Jiribam. They were identified as part of a six-member Meitei family abducted on November 11 during a festival celebration.

“As of now, five members of our family, including my wife and daughter, have been found dead and we have identified their bodies. My sister-in-law Laisram Heitombi Devi, 25, is still missing and we fear that she has been killed,” said Uttam Singh of Jiribam, who identified the bodies as those of Yurembam’s mother-in-law Rani Devi. and grandson Laisram Chingkheiganba Singh.

The other three bodies recovered earlier were of Singh’s wife Telem Thoibi Debi (31), daughter Telem Thajmanbi Devi (8) and another nephew Laisram Langamba Singh (8 months). All the bodies were taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Singh, who works at a construction site in Meghalaya, recounted his last contact with his family. “My wife called me around 11:30 on November 11 but I couldn’t answer. Her phone was switched off when I tried to call back around 4pm. I wish I had attended the call. He probably called me when the house was attacked. Neighbors said the militants came in six cars and abducted them in those vehicles,” he told HT.

On Sunday, angry mobs ransacked the offices of both the Congress and the BJP in Jiribam district, where an unidentified body was found earlier on Sunday. In Imphal Valley, protesters ransacked a building owned by independent legislator Ashab Uddin.

These incidents followed Saturday’s violence when angry mobs torched the homes of three BJP legislators, including a senior minister and a Congress MLA from Imphal Valley. Security forces also foiled attempts to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

“The situation is relatively calm today but unpredictable,” a senior state police official told Reuters, adding that 23 people had been arrested for attacking lawmakers’ homes.

Describing one such attack, an eyewitness detailed how the violence unfolded at the residence of MP Th Lokeshwar, where around 500 internally displaced persons have been sheltering for over 17 months. “They asked to meet the deputy. After some negotiations, some members, wearing combat clothing, threw petrol bombs around 21:00. Unknown attackers wearing face masks also fired in the air,” said Sorokhaibam Ongbi Bishwarani, a resident.

In response to the escalation of violence, authorities have deployed nearly 300 army personnel and the Assam Rifles to key areas in the Imphal Valley and Thoubal. “Following the resurgence of unrest, the Security Forces have received a requisition from the state police department to deploy troops in various parts of the Imphal Valley to help maintain order and restore peace,” an official said.

Authorities have imposed an indefinite shutdown in the Imphal valley and suspended internet services in seven districts – Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangkokpi and Churchandpur – covering Meita strongholds and tribal communities.

The latest spate of violence began after a 31-year-old Kuki woman was shot, raped and set on fire by suspected members of the radical Meitei Arambai Tenggol organization in Jiribam district on November 8. Security forces later killed 10 suspected Kuki militants who allegedly attacked a CRPF post.

In Churachandpur, hundreds of people protested on Friday demanding justice for the 10 tribals killed in the Jiribam fighting, claiming they were village volunteers rather than militants. Their bodies were airlifted from Silchar to Churachandpur on Saturday after post-mortems.

The Center has flown 20 additional paramilitary companies – about 2,500 personnel – to Manipur. The government has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in areas under six police stations in five districts, though the state government has called for its withdrawal.

The ethnic conflict has effectively divided Manipur into two distinct enclaves – the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley and the Kuki-majority hills – separated by buffer zones monitored by security forces. However, militants from both communities often use the hills and jungle areas to launch attacks in the districts, with security forces creating buffer zones and setting up camps on highways in response.