Violence in Manipur: BSF personnel will be stationed close to the assaulted village of Kuki

According to persons with knowledge of the situation, a team of Border Security Force (BSF) troops would likely be stationed close to Thawai Kuki hamlet, where three village guards who were all tribal Kuki members were slain by armed thugs on Friday morning.

Security personnel are searching the jungles of the nearby hills, where the armed criminals are allegedly hiding out, but the assailants are still at large, according to the locals.

In a state where tensions between the majority Meitei group and the indigenous Kuki community have resulted in at least 155 deaths and 50,000 displaced residents, Friday’s violence was the first murder in the state in 13 days.

The chief minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, demanded an explanation and ordered an investigation from Churachandpur deputy commissioner regarding the display of weapons at an Independence Day parade in the hill district, which is a development that is escalating tension in the state, which has been plagued by ethnic violence.

Photos and videos from the event showed young guys in battle fatigues holding what seemed to be sophisticated weaponry. They were parade participants.

“The CM has requested a report on how individuals are exhibiting and carrying weapons in public. The Zomi Council Steering Committee organized the march at the Churachandpur field, not the district administration, according to a state government source who was aware of the situation.

However, the charges were refuted by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a significant umbrella organization of tribal groups. Village volunteers, according to Ginza Vualzong, a spokeswoman for the ITLF, participated in the procession. “The guns carried by the village volunteers are toy guns or wooden guns,” stated Vualzong.

The majority of people living in the hilly district of Churachandpur are Kukis. Kukis inhabit in the hilly regions, whereas Meiteis are mostly found in the plains and valleys, including Imphal. The Kuki factions have charged prejudice against Meitei chief minister N Biren Singh. The tribal organizations charged Singh’s police force—which was mostly made up of Meiteis—with racism and targeting Kukis.

Ten Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal MLAs from Manipur sent a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week asking him to designate separate chief secretary and director general of police positions for Kuki and other tribal tribes in the five hills districts.

Security personnel were looking on Saturday for the armed thugs who attacked the three village guards, Thangkhokai Haokip (35), Jamkhogin Haokip (26), and Hollenson Baithe (24), in Thuwai Kuki village in Ukhrul at approximately 4.30 am.

“On Friday night, the search effort lasted far into the wee hours. It was picked back up today. We are hunting for the criminals in other locations as well, according to intelligence information, an Assam Rifles official stated.

The Kuki Students Organization’s (KSO) local Ukhrul President, Gigin, said that the villagers, KSO staff, and police met on Friday night.

“A BSF squad would be placed close to the hamlet, the district SP, who had attended the burial on Friday night, has told us. Since Thuwai Kuki hamlet hasn’t been attacked in months, everyone figured it wouldn’t be a target. But today, things have changed. Even the armed militants responsible for the deaths of the three villagers must be hidden in the woods, according to Gigin.

The community has around 50 homes, all of which are occupied by Kuki families.

The police have asked for a company of BSF men to be stationed in the hamlet and the surrounding regions, according to SP, (Ukhrul) Nigshem Vashum.

The assailants shot at the three village guards as they approached the settlement from the hills to the east. Before leaving the scene, the murderers also dismembered the corpses. According to officials, the bunker where the victims were discovered is around one mile from the settlement. They also said that no reliable eyewitnesses to the occurrence exist.

The violence in Manipur, which has been going on since May 3, sparked a national outcry last month after a 30-second video clip showed a brutal sexual assault on May 4 in which a group of men, later identified as Meiteis in a first information report (FIR), were seen cheering and applauding while stripping two Kuki women and making them parade naked. The shocking video caused the Supreme Court to take notice of the case and declare that it would keep track of all incidents of violence against women that occur during ethnic confrontations. The supreme court also mandated the formation of a powerful committee, made up of three retired women high court judges, that would go to the conflict-torn region and provide feedback on the success of measures for rescue, relief, and rehabilitation.