The Centre on Saturday asked all security forces to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in Manipur, and to take strict action against anyone trying to indulge in violent or disruptive activities.

The direction came a day after the bodies of a woman and two children – believed to be three among six people of a family who had gone missing from Manipur’s Jiribam since Monday – were found floating in the Jiri river on Friday evening.

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In a statement, the Centre said that the security scenario in the Northeastern state remained fragile for the past few days. “Armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence, leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order. All the security forces have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace. Strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities,” it said.

In fact, the state government has also been asked to hand over all important cases to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for effective investigation. “The public are requested to maintain peace, not believe in rumours and cooperate with the security forces to maintain law and order in the state,” it said.

Six people of a family – three women and three children, including a baby – had gone missing from Jiribam’s Borobekra after violence in the area. All six are from the Meitei community and had been living in a relief camp set up at the Borobekra police station after violence gripped the area in June.

According to security officials, while the family members are yet to identify the bodies, the descriptions matched three of those missing.

According to an official, there had been an input that the bodies were seen floating in the river, following which Assam Rifles personnel retrieved them. The area from which they have been retrieved is called Jirimukh, where the Jiri River meets the Barak River.

On Tuesday, the Centre sent 20 additional CAPF companies comprising about 2,000 personnel to Manipur in the wake of fresh attacks and law and order issues in the state. In an order issued on November 12 from the Ministry of Home Affairs, it has been stated, “In order to maintain the law and order situation in Manipur, it has been decided to provide additional 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) – 15 from the CRPF (Ex-Assam) and five from the Border Security Force (Ex-Tripura) to the Manipur government with immediate effect and up to November 30 for maintaining law and order in the state.”