Olympic medalist seeks Modi's help to bring peace in India's strife-torn Manipur

NEW DELHI, July 18 (Xinhua) -- India's Olympic silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to help bring peace to India's strife-torn state of Manipur.

Chanu, a weightlifter who is currently training in the United States, posted an appeal on social media Monday night, saying that because of the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur, many sports persons could not participate in the training camps and the studies of students were also being largely disturbed.

The northeastern state is on edge since May 3 when large-scale violence broke out during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status.

Authorities responded by imposing a curfew and suspending internet services as a precautionary measure to restrict the mobilization of crowds in the state.

The ethnic clashes have so far killed 142 people, injured over 3,000 and displaced 60,000 others.