The death toll in Manipur has climbed to 54, officials said amid normalcy in Imphal Valley on Saturday as shops and markets reopened and cars started plying on the roads.
Central police forces was clearly visible on all major roads and areas.
Roadblocks and checkpoints have been set up in areas where militant groups had engaged security forces on Friday.
Large number of people, including students, were seen assembled at Imphal airport to try get a flight out of the troubled state.
Meanwhile, an Assam Rifles column has been instructed to pick up all Naga students in Imphal from pick up points on Sunday for a trip back to Kohima.
Survivors at various refugee camps set up for victims of the riots which broke out on Wednesday night said several villages have been torched.
Nearly 10,000 Army, para-military and central police forces have been deployed in the state where rioting broke out after demonstrations were organized by tribals, including Kukis and Nagas, on Wednesday against a move to give the majority Meitei community, scheduled tribe status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of the population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals, who include Nagas and Kukis, account for another 40 per cent of the population and live mostly in the hill districts which surround the Valley.
Of the 54 officially declared dead, 16 bodies were kept in the morgue of the Churachandpur district hospital, while 15 bodies were at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal East district, officials said.
The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences at Lamphel in Imphal West district reported 23 dead, the official said.
“Total of approximately 13,000 civilians have been rescued and are currently staying in various ad-hoc boarding facilities specifically created for the purpose within Company Operating Bases & Military Garrisons,” the defence official said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the situation in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and top officials on Friday, even as the Centre dispatched additional security forces and anti-riot vehicles to maintain peace there.
Around 1,000 more central paramilitary personnel with anti-riot vehicles reached Manipur on Friday, sources said.
Trains to Manipur have been cancelled with immediate effect on Friday due to the prevailing in the state, a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson said.
Violence first erupted in Torbung area in Churachandpur district during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) on Wednesday to protest the demand of Meiteis for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The march was organised by tribals after the Manipur High Court asked the state government last month to send a recommendation to the Centre within four weeks on the demand for ST status by the Metei community.
During the march in Torbung, an armed mob allegedly attacked people of the Meitei community, leading to retaliatory attacks in the valley districts, which escalated the violence throughout the state, police said.
