Manipur violence: Kuki groups to hold ‘coffin rally’ to honour 10 slain ‘militants’

Manipur violence: Kuki organisations have asked schools and colleges to send students from Class 10 onwards to attend the rally in black shirts.

Published on: Nov 19, 2024, 06:33:42 IST

By HT News Desk

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Manipur violence: Manipur’s Kuki organisations have announced a 'coffin rally' in Churachandpur on Tuesday to honour the ‘10 Kuki-Zo youths’ killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF in Jiribam district.

Members of the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad Assam and Kamrup District Committee light candles during a protest against the 'Manipur Violence' in Guwahati on Monday. (ANI Photo) (Abdul Sajid)

Schools and colleges have been asked to send students from Class 10 onwards to attend the rally in black shirts, as mentioned in a joint notice by the Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF), Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) and Hmar Students' Association (HSA) on Monday.

One of the organisers has said 10 symbolic coffins will be carried during the rally to honour the deceased youths, as their bodies remain in the mortuary of a local hospital.

After an autopsy at a hospital in Assam’s Silchar, the bodies of 10 people reached Churachandpur, a Kuki-majority district on Saturday afternoon.

Read: Centre to send 50 additional companies of CRPF, BSF amid fresh violence

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a prominent Kuki-Zo community organisation in Manipur, announced on Sunday that the funerals would be delayed until postmortem reports are provided to the families.

Manipur Police said the deceased were suspected militants killed on November 11 during a fierce encounter with security forces. The alleged insurgents, dressed in camouflage and armed with advanced weapons, launched an attack on Borobekra Police Station and a nearby CRPF camp in Jakuradhor of Jiribam district.

The suspected militants abducted six civilians, including three women and three children, from the same district, police had claimed.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

Also read: One more body recovered from Barak River in Assam

Meanwhile, the Naga Peoples' Front (NPF), a Bharatiya Janata Party ally with five MLAs in Manipur, on Monday expressed confidence in the state government's efforts to manage the situation in the violence-hit state, saying that there is no question of withdrawing support at this point.

This statement came a day after the National People's Party (NPP), which holds seven seats in the 60-member assembly, pulled its support from the N Biren Singh-led government.

The NPP cited the government's failure to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy in the region.

With PTI inputs

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HT News Desk
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