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Fresh violence in Manipur district, curfew returns
The order by deputy commissioner of Churachandpur, Dharun Kumar S, stated that Section 144 of CrPC was imposed for two months till February 18
Curfew has been imposed in Manipur’s Churachandpur district for two months after nearly 30 people were injured in clashes between two groups on Monday night, officials informed on Tuesday.
The clashes took place ahead of a mass burial of 87 Kuki-Zomi victims of the ongoing ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi tribes scheduled to be held in Churachandpur on Wednesday.
Last week, following the Supreme Court’s directives, the bodies of victims, which were lying in two morgues in Imphal for months, were airlifted to Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. A mass burial was conducted in Kangpokpi last week.
The order by deputy commissioner of Churachandpur, Dharun Kumar S, stated that Section 144 of CrPC was imposed for two months till February 18 based on police reports about “clashes between two groups of individuals and sporadic violence”.
The incidents took place in several parts of Churachandpur town and in Thingkhangphai village. Around 30 persons were injured in the district dominated by the Kuki-Zomi tribes.
“It has been reported that there are still chances of breach of peace due to confrontation between two groups of people, which may result into an open clash with communal tone and the situation is still tense,” the order read.
Kumar added that the curfew was imposed as a “preventive measure to maintain peace and tranquillity” as there was “serious apprehension of breach of law and order”. The order won’t apply to government agencies involved in the maintenance of law and order and essential services.
Churachandpur superintendent of police Karthik Malladi said the situation in the district was normal on Tuesday. Mobile internet service, which was suspended on Monday, was restored, he added.
The clash took place between two groups comprising Kuki and Zomi tribes over the issue of raising a Zomi flag near a memorial stone at Thingphai, a Kuki village located close to Zomi settlements. There were also differences over naming the mass burial site in Churachandpur as Kuki-Zo Martyrs Cemetery.
On Monday, a meeting of the presidential council of Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Kuki umbrella group in Churachandpur, had decided to name the burial site at Mata as the Kuki-Zo Martyrs Cemetery.
Reacting to the move, the Zomi Council in an emergency meeting held on Tuesday stated that the term Kuki-Zo was never discussed, there was no consensus on it and it was “unacceptable to the Zomi”.
The Zomi Council in a statement condemned the “brutal attack” on Zomi civilians by Kukis on Monday and it was shocked to see the disrespect shown to the Zomi flag.
“The situation is under control now. We will take part in Wednesday’s mass burial ceremony,” said John K Ngaithe, chairman of the Zomi Council.
Ginza Vualzong from the ITLF said that Wednesday’s burial programme will start with a condolence meeting at Tuiboung at 11 am, which will be followed by the burial ceremony at Mata at 2 pm.
Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 3. The violence has claimed at least 196 lives and displaced around 50,000 people.On Tuesday evening the Kuki Students Organisation and Zomi Students Federation issued a joint declaration following a meeting to “uphold peaceful coexistence and mutual respect”. The declaration was issued after KSO issued an apology on behalf of the violent mob who attacked injured Zomi civilians.
