Guwahati: Thousands thronged the streets in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district Sunday to protest the killing of two Kuki-Zo volunteers in Phailengmol, a fringe village bordering Imphal East district.
They allegedly died during a gunfight between the ethnic Kukis and the non-tribal Meiteis while central security forces resorted to mortar shelling on Saturday.
The incident, occurring just before the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 19 and 26 April, has cast a shadow over the region’s security, which has seen gunfights and violence in an ethnic conflict that flared up a year ago.
A 24-hour ‘total shutdown’ has been called by tribal bodies in Kangpokpi demanding justice for the deceased, which is set to conclude Monday midnight.
A separate candlelight vigil was also taken out in Churachandpur Sunday evening in honour of the victims.
The bodies of the deceased, Kamminlal Lupheng and Kamlengsat Lunkim — both in their 20s — have not yet been recovered, confirmed the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of Kuki-Zo tribes in Outer Manipur.
However, purported videos of two corpses being mutilated after the firing were shared widely on social media.
The central and state security forces are trying to locate the bodies of the deceased. The tribal forums have demanded that the mortal remains of the slain village volunteers be handed over to the families “as soon as possible”.
They have alleged the involvement of armed cadres of the Arambai Tenggol and the Valley-Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs), including the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), in the recent attacks.
“A combined team of Arambai Tenggol and UNLF militants has been attacking tribal areas since yesterday (Friday) and openly posting about their activity on social media,” the ITLF alleged in a press statement.
It added that central security forces “resorted to heavy firing towards the hills” when a gunfight had erupted between the two communities in the peripheral areas Saturday morning.
“It was around 8.30 am that the gunfight started. The intermittent firing continued for a couple of hours until noon,” a resident of Kangpokpi told ThePrint.
The development comes almost a year after the tribal villagers returned to the Phailengmol village that was allegedly set ablaze during the initial months of the ethnic conflict, which started in May last year.
The village volunteers had stood guard for several months to defend the village from being burned down a second time, the resident added.
Phailengmol is dominated by the Kukis but also has a sizeable Naga population nearby.
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‘Why can’t they leave us alone?’
In its statement, the ITLF alleged that the central security forces posted nearby fired mortars, which led to the death of the two volunteers, and forced others to retreat from their makeshift bunkers.
“Meitei militants then went inside the hills and discovered the bodies — one inside a bunker and another lying nearby,” the ITLF claimed in its statement.
Meanwhile, a separate protest was taken out in Delhi as well, demanding exemplary punishment for those involved.
Around 400 people gathered at Jantar Mantar Sunday carrying banners and placards that read, “Justice for Kuki-Zo education, equality and human rights”, “Valley for Meitei, Hills for Tribals”.
“For 11 months, there has been unabated violence against the Kuki-Zo community. Why can’t they leave us alone? We came to know that they (armed Meitei groups) crossed the buffer zone, and the central forces stood mute spectators,” one of the protesters told ThePrint.
The tribal bodies, including ITLF and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki tribes, condemned the treatment meted out to the bodies.
“The deceased were dragged on ropes, their faces stomped on and sprayed with bullets, and their arms hacked off with machetes,” the ITLF stated.
The mutilation of the bodies depicts “sheer brutality, barbarism, and utter disregard for human dignity… It is only apt for the Government of India to deliberate on the use of its resources, funds, and arms and ammunitions for terrorist activities within its own borders and take appropriate redressal measures,” the KIM said in a statement Sunday.
Flaying the role of the central security forces, the ITLF stated that “their actions today have raised many questions ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.”
“Also, how were the Meitei militants able to cross the buffer zone freely and defile the bodies of the deceased?” the tribal forum asked.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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