Manipur chief minister Khemchand Singh on Tuesday said the state government has decided to hand over the probe into the bomb attack in Bishnupur district, which claimed the lives of two children, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), even as Rahul Gandhi said there was “no sign of peace” in the state and urged urgent intervention.

Addressing a press conference, Singh condemned the incident in the strongest terms and said the act appears to be the handiwork of individuals or groups with vested interests in disturbing the prevailing peace in the state.

He informed that the decision to hand over the case to NIA was taken after detailed discussions with the state home minister and other MLAs.

The chief minister said that the perpetrators are yet to be identified at this stage and that a massive combing operation was currently underway.

"Security forces, including police, Assam Rifles and CRPF, have been deployed. Helicopters are also being used. The culprits will be caught at the earliest," he said.

Appealing to the public, the CM urged people to remain calm and not give in to emotions.

He asked citizens to cooperate with the ongoing operations and support efforts to restore normalcy.

Two persons were killed and five others injured after security forces opened fire when a mob stormed a CRPF camp in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Tuesday.

State home minister Govindas Konthoujam said the firing took place after protesters, angered by the killing of two children in a bomb attack earlier in the day, advanced towards a CRPF camp near Gelmol in Moirang Tronglaobi.

A large number of youths and women had gathered to protest the deaths and later stormed the camp located a few hundred metres from the blast site, he said. The mob allegedly set vehicles on fire and vandalised portions of the camp despite repeated appeals from authorities to maintain calm.

“I had urged the protesters not to enter the CRPF camp and to allow security forces to focus on conducting an operation to apprehend those involved in the bomb attack,” Konthoujam said.

“They stormed the CRPF camp, burnt vehicles and vandalised portions of the camp, leading to firing by security personnel. They fired either in self-defence or in anger. Two persons, unfortunately, died in the firing, while five others sustained bullet injuries,” he said.

Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi expressed deep anguish over the killing of children and the continuing unrest in the state. In a post on X, he called the deaths “heart-wrenching” and said that even after three years of violence, there was no visible return to normalcy in Manipur.

“The news of the murder of two tiny children sleeping in the home of a BSF jawan in Manipur is heart-wrenching. In Manipur, even three years later, innocent children are still burning in the smouldering fire of violence—no sign of peace is visible anywhere near…,” he wrote in Hindi.

He criticised the Centre’s handling of the situation, alleging that the government had become “desensitised and stone-hearted” and had failed to recognise that the children of Manipur are “the nation’s children, our future”.

He questioned how long the state would continue “counting the bodies of its own and waiting” for meaningful action, and called for immediate and concrete steps to restore peace.

“I have repeatedly said that peace is the only way. Only by bringing all communities together, with sensitivity, can a permanent solution to this crisis be found,” Gandhi said, urging a comprehensive and empathetic approach.

“Prime Minister, Manipur is not just a state—it is a responsibility. A mere statement in name is not enough, a mere showy visit is not enough. You will have to take concrete and immediate steps—before the situation spirals completely out of control,” he added.

The violence on Tuesday was triggered by a bomb attack in Moirang Tronglaobi earlier in the day, in which two children were killed, allegedly by suspected militants.

The area, located in a low-lying zone close to the hill districts of Churachandpur, has witnessed repeated gunfire during the ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups.

The Manipur government on Tuesday ordered the suspension of internet and mobile data services in five districts — Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur — for three days to curb the spread of misinformation and rumours.

A home department statement said the decision was taken “in view of the prevailing law and order situation” and to prevent the circulation of disinformation across digital platforms, including broadband, VSAT and VPN services.

Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation and condemned the attack as a “barbaric act” and “an outright assault on humanity”.

He said the incident was a direct attempt to derail the fragile peace in the state and assured that those responsible would be brought to justice, while urging citizens to remain united against forces seeking to disrupt communal harmony.

“Whenever the government takes up initiatives to instill peace and tranquillity in the state, we usually witness sporadic violence,” he said.

Meanwhile, protests intensified across the region, with locals torching two oil tankers and a truck near a petrol pump, and burning tyres in front of the Moirang Police Station and in parts of Imphal.

Local NPP MLA Th. Shanti Singh condemned the attack, alleging that it was carried out by “Kuki narco-terrorists” and called it an act of terrorism that must be dealt with firmly.

An explosive device was also recovered from a nearby area in Tronglaobi, a senior officer said, indicating the possibility of further threats.

Over 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023, with fresh incidents continuing to undermine efforts to restore normalcy in the state.