Insurgent groups have threatened Catholic Missionaries and considering these threats, half of them have fled Manipur. Police source said that impact of these threats were especially on the educational institutions.
Militant groups have demanded extortion amount of Rs 500,000 from eight catholic schools located inside the center area of Imphal. When these schools have shown their inability to give that much extortion amount, militants have raised it to two crores. Thus, authorities of these schools have expressed their inability to run school furthermore.
Some of headmasters and principals have already left the city as they are receiving threats of lives. Principal of Don Bosco School is one of them.  All this is not happening first time.  These missionaries in the state have been targeted since 1990. Militants have killed several Christian missionaries in last decade. Not just in Manipur, they are threatening them in all over the north east region.
Father Tommy Manjaly has been the latest such victims of these threats by Insurgent groups. On February 2, Father Tommy principal of the same Catholic School at Canchipur was attacked within the school campus. Earlier, Father Sajan Jacob Chittinapilly, the assistant parish priest of St Joseph Parish at Sugunu in Thoubal district was shot dead.
A large Christian population resides in Manipur, but the majority Meitei people who follow Vaishnavism. Manipur DGP, DS Grewal said that most of these extortion threats were given by People’s Liberation Army and the Revolutionary Front. All such threats have created pressure over missionaries working in Manipur state.
According to DS Grewal, Many Catholic organizations had paid money considering those extortion threats and that act has raised expectations to collect more extortion amount. In Imphal press conference, DGP Grewal said newspersons, “Police have got information about fulfilling of extortion demands by some schools. We can’t reveal any names. We are taking actions and arranging more security measures around the schools. Yes, we are trying our best. But, it is not possible to give special security cover to every individual.” However, a senior missionary has denied the version of these incidents as shared by DGP. He said that no missionary school had paid extortion money. We have been serving under tremendous pressure and hardly, we got any sort of security cover.
Meanwhile, Rev S K Hikey, chairman of the All Manipur Catholic Organisation and Rev Edmund Chiphang, president of the All Manipur Catholic Union, have send memorandums to PM Modi and also to the President of India. In these memorandums, he urged them to take immediate action over these rush situations in the state as well as in the whole north east region. Rev Joseph Mittathany, archbishop of the Imphal diocese has also forwarded a similar sort of fax message to both with a similar appeal.
In fact, attack on Father Jacob Chittinapilly was hugely protested across the state. On International Human Rights Day, a massive rally was organized in Imphal.
From more than a period of hundred years, Christianity exists in Manipur. Over 800 Christian missionaries are working in various schools, churches and other institutions. All these are from outside the north-eastern region. While most of such incidents of targeting Catholic institutions used to occur in the outlying districts of the state. Nowadays, the schools even in the capital are now becoming soft targets of Insurgent groups.