Imphal: The Manipur government has closed all schools in six valley districts on Wednesday due to safety concerns for students, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Director of Education (School), L. Nandakumar Singh, issued an order stating that all schools in the valley districts would remain closed on Wednesday, prioritising the safety of both students and teachers.

The closure follows the ongoing violence in the valley districts, which intensified after the bodies of three children and three women were found in Jiribam on November 15 and 16. In response to the unrest, the government had already shut all educational institutions in the five curfew-bound districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal, and Kakching on November 18 and 19.

Meanwhile, students of Manipur University staged a sit-in and burnt effigies of the Manipur Chief Minister and Governor in front of the university’s main gate condemning the heinous torture, rape and murder of three children and three women who were abducted by Kuki militants on November 11 from Borobekra Sub division in Jiribam.

The sit-in was jointly organised by the Manipur University Student Union (MUSU) and Jiribam Students Forum, Imphal.

While talking to the media on the sidelines of the protest, N Ibenoubi, daughter of Y Rani Devi, one of the six victims, stated that she earlier met with the chief minister to launch the rescue operation after hearing news of the abduction on November 11.

“I had pleaded with the chief minister to rescue my mother and family but instead he redirected the matter saying he could not decide the fate of the hostages,” she said.

She expressed discontentment with the inaction of the government and maintained that the state government must be held accountable for their death.

Meanwhile, MUSU president Nongthombam Suraj stated that it was no use studying if students could not contribute to the betterment of society’s political and social well-being.

IANS