600 Kuki refugees returned to Manipur from Assam, more following: Police

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts

More than 600 refugees belonging to the Kuki tribal community, who took shelter in Assam’s Cachar district fleeing the violence-hit Manipur have returned home, Assam police police said on Thursday, adding that they are moving more people as curfew was relaxed in 11 districts, including Imphal West, Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Jiribam.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur (File Photo)

According to official data, 2,252 persons from Manipur’s Jiribam took shelter in the temporary camps in the past few days. 300 were shifted to Mizoram while 600 returned home as no fresh incident of violence was reported, they said.

Violent clashes broke out between tribals and people belonging to the majority Meitei community in Manipur last week, displacing thousands of people.

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

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

So far eight shelter camps have been set up in Cachar’s Lakhipur, while some temporary ones have been put in place in Sonai.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that over 2,000 victims of violence in Manipur have taken shelter in the Cachar district and they will start returning home from Tuesday. On Wednesday, a senior official of Assam police said that already 600 refugees have returned home and more of them are moving.

Following an alleged attack on Kuki villages in Manipur’s Jiribam district, around 3,000 locals crossed the Jiri river (which divides Assam and Manipur) to enter Assam. The attack follows the clashes that broke out between the Meitei community and Kuki tribals last week.

A senior Cachar administration official told HT on Monday that over 300 Kuki migrants attempted to move towards Mizoram. “Kukis and Mizos share a good bond and they believe that they will find safe shelter there,” said the official.

MLA from Jiribam Md. Achab Uddin on Saturday visited the areas of Assam where Manipur residents have shifted. He said that they left their homes because of rumours mostly. “I have visited the disturbed areas, there was not much violence. People were afraid that violence from Churachandpur and surrounding areas may spread there,” he said. On Tuesday, Uddin said that they have launched awareness drives in areas from where locals migrated to Assam.

According to refugees, they fled their homes at midnight on May 5 after a group of miscreants attempted to set a Church on fire and began burning houses. “They burnt two houses and threatened to continue this torture. Some said that it is their last war against us,” said a 24-year-old woman refugee.

On the remarks of MLA, another refugee said, “Internet services were shut, so how can he claim that we left home because of rumours? We saw death coming to us, we saved our family, our kids by coming to Assam,” he said.

Along with heavy security deployment in the violence-hit areas in Manipur, the state government had also shut suspended internet service for at least five days.

Silchar MP Dr Rajdeep Roy also visited the camps in Cachar to meet the refugees.

“Cachar gave shelter to Muktijuddhyas during Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan. We are giving the displaced Kukis safe shelter, food and adequate security. This has set an example and I hope they return home soon because things are normal in Manipur now,” he said.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur.

Together they have successfully rescued and shifted around 24,000 civilians from various districts of Manipur till Monday. As per security sources, nearly around 9,500 of those rescued are Meiteis and 10,000 from the Kuki tribal community.

According to government data, following the unrest in Manipur, at least 60 people have been killed and over 30,000 people have been rendered homeless, of whom 26,000 have been evacuated to safer places outside their districts, while 4,000 remained in relief camps closer to their homes.