THREE people including a mother and son were burned alive by rioters in India’s Manipur state, Malaysia Nanban reported.
Manipur has seen riots and demonstrations since early May with more than 100 reported dead and about 300 injured.
The violence broke out after a majority community in the state demanded “adivasi” (aboriginal) status. This demand is seen as a political move since the aboriginal status typically comes with affirmative action advantages such as development allocations, government jobs, and seats in public universities and colleges.
However, the currently recognised aboriginal communities, who are minority groups in the state, strongly opposed this demand.
An ambulance carrying a mother, her eight-year-old child injured by gunfire and a relative was waylaid by a large mob who demanded to know who was inside the vehicle.
When the group discovered that the occupants were from the minority group, they apparently set fire to the ambulance, burning alive the three people.
Around 1,000 soldiers were deployed to the state to bring the situation under control but the violence has continued.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
