New Delhi: A Kuki-Zo family, who ran a school for 25 years in Imphal until it was burnt down during the ethnic violence in Manipur in May this year, has approached the Supreme Court demanding compensation from the state for failing to protect the institution and its infrastructure.
Permanently displaced, the family say they have been forced to abandon the school and live on the generosity of distant family relatives at Churachandpur, Manipur. And since parts of Imphal continue to be in the throes of violence, the atmosphere is no longer conducive for members of the Kuki-Zo communities to rebuild their lives there anytime soon, the family claimed in its petition to the Supreme Court.
Unsure about whether they can run the school ever again, the family wants the court to direct the Manipur government to compensate for the loss it suffered due to the damage caused to the institution and its failure to launch any investigation to arrest the perpetrators.
The petition came up for hearing on 24 November before a bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, which asked the petitioner’s lawyer Sai Vinod to provide a copy of the petition to the apex court-appointed committee, which is looking into rehabilitation schemes floated by the state government.
“We have something in mind, please give a copy of the petition to the committee,” the CJI told advocate Sai Vinod, who appeared on behalf of the family.
The petition, filed by Niangthianvung, one of the owners of St Peter School in Imphal, contains extensive details of how the school was attacked, followed by a hostage situation wherein 39 persons who took refuge in the school premises at the time of clashes were taken hostage.
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‘Horrors of the carnage’
The school, claim the petitioners, was gearing up to celebrate its silver jubilee this year when a group of Meitei allegedly vandalised it. “On 4 May, the school, its buildings, its legacy, and its mission were burnt, destroyed and forever lost,” the petition laments.
A day before, on 3 May, the petition said, some families rushed to the school for safety when a violent mob began attacking churches, homes and other establishments of Kuki-Zo tribals in Zone-4 of National Games Village (NGV) in Imphal West.
They hoped that the school would be spared by the armed men.
By midnight, about 34 people were inside the school premises. To make matters worse, electricity to the school and nearby areas was cut off, they allege.
The next day, on 4 May, a mob gathered outside the school gate and began pelting stones and attempted to trespass. Niangthianvung’s mother-in-law, founder and principal of the school, urged the mob to leave, given the number of women and children sheltering inside the structure.
However, according to the petition, the mob forced itself inside the premises and burnt classrooms, offices, hostels and residences. The school’s football turf was also set ablaze.
The mob then turned to those who were hiding inside the school and checked their Aadhaar cards. Two Tangkhul Naga families who too had taken shelter inside the building were allowed to leave safely, while the remaining 25 — 12 women and 9 children — were taken hostage including the petitioner and her two minor sons.
Later, they were made to walk towards an unspecified location. In the process they crossed a police booth that was located 30 metres from the school gate and yet received no help from the police personnel who were present there, the petition alleges.
Eight hours after they were taken into custody, the 25 were “thrown inside a police truck and taken to the 1st Manipur Rifles Camp,” which according to the petition, was a few kilometres away.
Finally, on 8 May, escorted by the Army, Niangthianvung and her two sons flew to Guwahati safely, while her mother-in-law, who stayed back, was sent to Churachandpur.
“The loss and trauma caused to the petitioner and her family is incalculable. St Peter School was established in 1999 by the petitioner’s mother-in-law and her late husband and has a longstanding legacy of providing education to children from all communities, including Kuki-Zo, Meitei and Nagas without any discrimination,” read the petition.
Although the family is yet to assess the full extent of loss, they have provided to the court a rough estimate, according to which they have lost movable and immovable properties worth Rs 14 crore. This includes the loans and personal borrowings by the family to improve the school’s infrastructure, construction of a new library and a recreational room.
Having experienced the “horrors of the carnage,” the family has also demanded compensation for mental trauma caused as a result. “The police did nothing as the angry mobs paraded and took them as hostages. They acted in collusion with the mobs, let alone their serious dereliction of constitutional and official duties,” the petition submits.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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