A major fire broke out at an abandoned building near the Manipur civil secretariat complex close to Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s official bungalow today (June 15), police said.
Three fire tenders were pressed into service and they put out the blaze within an hour, an official said. No damage was caused to the chief minister’s bungalow where security was tightened following the fire incident, officials said.
The reason for the fire in the private abandoned building is yet to be ascertained, an official said. The building belonged to the family of late IAS officer T Kipgen, former chief secretary of Goa. No casualties have been reported so far.
The house has been abandoned since violence broke out in Manipur last year, officials added. Manipur has remained gripped by recurring bouts of violence since ethnic clashes between Kuki and Meitei communities erupted on May 3, 2023. Over 219 people have been killed in the violence.
According to the officials, the fire broke out in a deserted building close to the erstwhile headquarters of the Kuki Inpi, the apex body of the Kuki tribe, who deserted the building after the ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state in May last year.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.