Shutdown in Manipur’s district brings normal life to a halt
Shutdown in Manipur’s district brings normal life to a halt
m.u.h
03/10/2023173
The tribal-dominated Churachandpur district came to a standstill on Monday, a day after several Kuki organisations called for an indefinite shutdown to protest against the arrest of five people from the area by central agencies in separate cases, people aware of the matter said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested four people — Paominlun Haokip, S Malsawn Haokip, Lhingneichong Baitekuki and Tinneilhing Henthang — in connection with the murder of two Meitei students on Sunday. The accused, all from the Kuki-Zo community, were produced before a special court in Guwahati which said “prima facie” enough material exists to send them to CBI custody for five days, officials aware of the matter said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a man identified as Seiminlun Gangte in a case of a transnational conspiracy by Myanmar and Bangladesh-based terror outfits to exploit the ethnic strife in the northeastern state.
The Kuki outfits called the arrests “abduction” and demanded the immediate release of the accused.
“If the CBI can work with such swiftness, why has it not arrested anyone in more heinous cases like the rape and murder of two tribal girls in Imphal, the burning of a seven-year-old boy along with his mother and aunt, the torture and beheading of a tribal youth and so many other acts of atrocities against tribals,” Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Churachandpur-based Kuki group said.
ITLF also claimed that Gangte, was a private teacher based in Kwakta, a border area between Churachandpur and Bishnupur district, and has no criminal record.
CBI officials in Guwahati aware of the matter stated that the case against the accused is based on evidence. They also denied allegations that no women officers were present during the arrest of the four accused, two of whom are women.
On Monday, vehicles stayed off the road in Churachandpur as Kuki groups sealed entry and exit points with neighbouring Meitei-dominated districts, people aware of the matter said.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation based in Kangpokpi, another tribal-dominated district, announced that it will impose “emergency shutdown” of NH37, which connects Manipur capital Imphal to Silchar in Assam, seeking immediate release of those arrested by NIA, CBI and “safe release” of Satthang Kipgen, a resident of the district, allegedly abducted on September 30.
“If there is failure on the part of the union home ministry to heed the voices of fair intervention and there is a lapse of 48 hours, then COTU will impose indefinite shutdown in entire Kangpokpi district,” it said in a release.
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said the government was committed to ensuring maximum punishment for the guilty, including capital punishment, for the killing of the two students.
On September 25, photos of 20-year-old Phijam Hemanjit Singh and a 17-year-old girl, both missing since July 6, surfaced on social media. One of the photos showed them sitting on the ground in what appeared to be a forest with two armed men in the background, and another showed them apparently lying dead on the ground. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the photos. Manipur Police said the two Imphal residents may have got trapped in an area dominated by the Kuki community while fleeing, after which they were allegedly abducted and murdered. Hours after the photos went viral, violent protests broke out in the state.
Clashes in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community. At least 178 people have died and 50,000 displaced in the violence.
