Imphal, June 1 (IANS): Amidst the month-long ethnic violence in Manipur, the state government on Thursday appointed senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh, belonging to the neighbouring Tripura cadre, as Director General of Police (DGP) replacing incumbent state police chief P. Doungel.

According to an official order of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Doungel, a 1987 batch IPS officer of Manipur cadre has been posted in the newly-created post of Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Department.

The order said that the governor of Manipur is pleased to order that Rajiv Singh, a 1993 batch IPS officer of Tripura cadre should take charge of the post of DGP, Manipur from P. Doungel immediately upon joining the state government.

Singh, who was earlier Director Fire and Emergency Service and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) of Tripura, is currently the Inspector General of CRPF.

Manipur has witnessed unprecedented ethnic violence that has ravaged the state since May 3, leaving at least 80 dead and over 300 injured besides the destruction and arsoning of around 2,000 houses, huge number of government and private properties and a large number of vehicles.

The violence broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in 11 hill districts by the All Tribal Students' Union of Manipur to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

It was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers by the state government from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations in four districts.

Soon after the violence broke out, the central government had appointed former chief of the Central Reserve Police Force and retired IPS Kuldiep Singh as a security adviser to the Manipur government.