Senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh, belonging to the neighbouring Tripura cadre, was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of police of Manipur for a period of three years "as a special case in public interest", an official order said.

Singh, a 1993 batch IPS officer serving as the inspector general of operations at the CRPF headquarters in Delhi, replaces P Doungel, a 1987 batch IPS officer from Manipur, for whom a post of Officer on Special Duty (Home) has been created. He is due for retirement at the end of the month.

According to an official order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared inter-cadre deputation of Singh from Tripura cadre to Manipur cadre "for a period of three years from the date of joining, in relaxation of the policy as a special case in public interest".

Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department Special Secretary N Geoffrey said, in the order, that Singh will be the new DGP of Manipur and Head of the Police Force immediately upon joining the state government.

Manipur, which has been hit by ethnic conflict for nearly a month, witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday, after a relative lull for over a fortnight.

The death toll from clashes since ethnic violence began on May 3 has gone up to 80, officials said.

The violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

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

Soon after the violence broke out, the central government had appointed former chief of the CRPF Kuldiep Singh as a security adviser to the Manipur government.