Refrain from going to work: ITLF to govt staff

Kuki outfit in Manipur asks government employees in Churachandpur to stay home demanding reinstatement of suspended cop, leading to violence and curfew.

A prominent Kuki outfit has asked Manipur government employees to refrain from attending work in Churachandpur district from Monday as it again pressed for the reinstatement of a suspended police head constable from the community and the removal of two top officials and

After Thursday’s violence, the Manipur government reimposed curfew in the district and suspended internet services for five days in the region (HT)

On Thursday, two people were killed when security forces opened fire on a mob that stormed a government compound in the tribal-dominated district during a protest against the suspension of a cop over a video of him with “armed village volunteers”. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) held superintendent of police (SP) Shivanand Surve and deputy commissioner Dharun Kumar responsible for the violence, setting a 24-hour deadline for them to revoke the cop’s suspension and leave the district.

“More than 24 hours have passed since the ITLF gave an ultimatum to cancel the suspension order of head constable Siamlalpaul and replace Churachandpur SP and DC, but so far no cancellation or replacement has been done… State government employees should refrain from going to office...it will be their sole responsibility if any untoward incident happens,” it said in the statement. ITLF spokesperson Ginza Vualzong said the directive is not for central government employees.

The state government on Sunday issued an order, calling the ITLF directive illegal. The order, issued by chief secretary Vineet Joshi said, that ‘No Work, No pay’ against those “employees who do not attend their official duty without authorised leave”. HT has seen a copy of the order.

On Saturday, chief minister N Biren Singh condemned the violence in Churachandpur and said that one person was booked for threatening the SP, who had issued the suspension order against Siamlalpaul.

After Thursday’s violence, the Manipur government reimposed curfew in the district and suspended internet services for five days in the region.

Since May 2023, Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis, with other communities increasingly sucked into the violence that has continued unabated. Over the past nine months, at least 212 people have lost their lives, and over 50,000 people have been displaced.

(With inputs from New Delhi)