Unregulated vigilante armies push Indian state of Manipur to brink of civil war

Thousands of rifles are in the hands of civilian militia who freely mobilise every night, with police and the state accused of being powerless As the sun began to slip behind the verdant Manipur hills, Kolom Rabi prepared for a long night ahead. Hurriedly he slung a cartridge belt over his shoulder, strapped on a walkie-talkie and grabbed his shotgun. In the surrounding houses, dozens of his neighbours - farmers, students, teachers and office workers by day - donned their green army fatigues and...