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Prohibitory orders imposed in Manipur’s Churachandpur after Monday’s clash
Churachandpur superintendent of police Karthik Malladi said mobile internet has been restored to the district following an improvement in the situation
GUWAHATI: Authorities in Manipur’s Churachandpur district reimposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code and shut down mobile internet after nearly 30 people were injured in clashes between two groups on Monday, officials said.
The bar on mobile internet, initially notified for five days, was lifted on Tuesday, said Churachandpur superintendent of police Karthik Malladi.
Churachandpur deputy commissioner (DC) Dharun Kumar S imposed the prohibitory orders for a period of two months beginning December 18 will continue. Kumar issued the order following police reports about “clashes between two groups of individuals and sporadic violence”.
The clashes took place ahead of 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.
The bodies, lying in two morgues of Imphal for months, were airlifted to Churachandpur and Kangpokpi last week following orders of the Supreme Court. A mass burial was conducted in Kangpokpi last week.
The incidents took place in parts of Churachandpur and in Thingkhangphai village. People familiar with the matter said 30 people were injured in the clashes 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 issued by Churachandpur DC said.
It said the restrictions were imposed as a “preventive measure to maintain peace and tranquility” as there was a “serious apprehension of breach of law and order”.
Mobile internet, which remained suspended for seven months in Manipur, was restored on December 3 except in border areas of few districts.
A person aware of the matter said the clash on Monday took place between two groups comprising Kuki and Zomi tribes over raising a Zomi flag near a memorial stone at Thingphai, a Kuki village located close to Zomi settlements. There were also differences over a proposal to name 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, decided to name the burial site at Mata as the Kuki-Zo Martyrs Cemetery.
On Tuesday, the Zomi Council held a hurriedy-convened emergency meeting and declared that the term ‘Kuki-Zo’ was never discussed, that there was no consensus on it and it was “unacceptable to the Zomi”. The statement also condemned the “brutal attack” on Zomi civilians by Kukis on Monday and said 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 Zomi Council.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) and Zomi Students Federation pledged to “uphold peaceful coexistence and mutual respect” after KSO issued an apology on behalf of the violent mob that attacked an injured Zomi civilians on Monday.
Ginza Vualzong of ITLF said that Wednesday’s burial programme will start with a condolence meeting at Tuiboung at 11am and 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.
