It coincided with the second and last day of a shutdown in Imphal Valley against the killing of three Meiteis in an ambush in Imphal East on Monday. A bandh called against the killing of a 45-year-old Kuki man the day before paralysed the Kangpokpi district on Wednesday amid a spike in ethnic violence in Manipur.
Meitei protesters on Monday left two bodies in front of the main gate of Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh’s residence to protest the failure to protect civilians after suspected armed Kuki militants carried out the ambush. All the educational institutions were shut, and the public transport remained off the roads. “The role of the third arrested man in this heinous crime is being probed, and the investigation is on to identify the others who are involved in the case. The families of the victims claimed that the attackers belonged to the Kuki community. There were no deaths in the incident.
The ambush was the first incident of violence between Meiteis and Kukis after July 13, when armed Kuki groups attacked Meiteis in Bishnupur’s Torbung Bangla. In the last few months, at least 50 people have died in the state, mostly in Naga-Kuki clashes. Two days later, 14 people from each community were released. But 14 Kukis and six Nagas remained in captivity. After 27 days of protest and appeals for unconditional release of the hostages, 14 Kukis were released on June 9. But on June 10, mutilated bodies of six Naga hostages were recovered, fuelling tensions.
Additional director general of police Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo said three people have been arrested in connection with the Monday ambush. He cited the preliminary investigation and said two of them admitted to being part of the group that killed three Meiteis. The Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed after the killing of three Meiteis, said their bodies will not be accepted until the government books all those culprits involved in the incident.
