Image Source: Agencies

June 9, 2025: Following the dramatic arrest of members of the Meitei group Arambai Tenggol and its leader Kanan Singh by the CBI, which sparked massive protests and violent clashes throughout the Imphal valley, new unrest has broken out in Manipur.
To stop further escalation, the authorities have responded by enforcing curfew-like restrictions and suspending Internet services in five strategic regions.
Early on June 8, Kanan Singh, who is thought to be a well-known figurehead of the Arambai Tenggol, a Meiti activist group, was brought up from the Imphal airport. According to CBI officials, he has been under surveillance for months and is a major suspect in multiple cases involving the ethnic violence in Manipur in 2023.
According to a top CBI officer, "he was wanted in various crimes, including the attack on Additional SP Moirangthem Amit is residence and the officer's brief kidnapping in February 2024." Prior to his suspension, Kanan Singh was a chief constable with the Manipur Police commando squad. In recent months, he was allegedly in charge of multiple armed vigilante attacks.
In compliance with Supreme Court directions to move the venue outside the state for impartial proceedings, Kanan Singh was moved to Guwahati, where violence-related cases from Manipur are being heard, as soon as he was arrested.
The arrest of Kanan Singh caused a huge uproar among Meitei community members, and the word quickly circulated across Imphal. In a few of hours, demonstrators swept through the streets, obstructing traffic, setting tires on fire, and even setting cars on fire close to the Raj Bhavan. The protest became violent near Kangla Gate, just 200 meters from the governor's house, and the security forces had to use tear gas several times to break up the gathering.
In a somber indication of the community's growing rage, a number of young men doused themselves in petrol and threatened to burn themselves alive in order to demand Kanan Singh's quick release.
The Manipur government swiftly enforced prohibitory orders in the districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakching, Imphal West, and Imphal East out of concern about a breakdown in peace and order. As a precaution, mobile, broadband, VSAT, and even VPN services have been suspended in certain locations for the next 48 hours.
"Tense conditions persist. According to a senior Home Department official, the Internet ban is required to stop the dissemination of rumors and incendiary content that could spark more acts of violence.
At the Raj Bhavan on Sunday, a group of Manipur MLAs urged Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to step in and bring peace back. The group was given the governor's word that "all essential actions" were being taken to keep the peace and resolve the complaints of the populace.
To assess response plans and assess the situation on the ground, the governor later called a high-level security meeting with senior police, intelligence, and administrative authorities.
Kanan Singh's detention has once again brought attention to Manipur's unstable political situation. The state is still recovering from the 2023 communal violence that resulted in over 200 fatalities and thousands of displaced people.