Man Shot Dead In Manipur's Jiribam Amid Tension Over Killing Of Women, Children : Protest erupts in the valley

 Bodies of three woman and three children were brought to a morgue in Assam's Silchar on Friday night.

Ratnadip Choudhury, NDTV, November 18, 2024, New Delhi: A protester was shot dead during a clash between security forces and a mob in Manipur's violence-hit Jiribam district, officials said Monday. A police official in Imphal said a young man, identified as K Athouba, was killed in an exchange of gunfire Sunday night.

It is unclear who fired the bullet that killed the 21-year-old.

However, protesters have claimed Manipur Police special commandos had fired their weapons to disperse the mob, and that Athouba was killed in the firing and two others were injured.

A police official countered, saying the mob had attacked and vandalised properties of various leaders' houses and political party offices Sunday night. The official said the mob first vandalised properties carried out arson attacks in areas under the Jiribam Police jurisdiction.

They were protesting the killing of three women and three children on November 11.

There was violence on Saturday too; a mob protested outside the homes of at least two ministers, including Health and Family Welfare Minister Sapam Ranjan, and three MLAs in state capital Imphal, officials said.

This was hours after the cops found the six bodies - five days after the women and children from the Meitei community were taken hostage by suspected Kuki insurgents. Top sources in the Manipur government told NDTV the bodies were found in neighbouring Assam.

The Assam Police are on high alert in the area.

The women and children were taken hostage by a group of suspected Kuki insurgents from Jiribam's Bokobera neighbourhood while another group of insurgents were engaged in a gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), sources have said.

Ten of the suspected Kuki militants were shot dead in the encounter.

A group of people from the Kuki tribes surrounded SMCH and began a protest to block the transport of the 10 bodies kept in the morgue. They claimed the 10 Kuki men killed in the encounter were "village volunteers".

The protesters this morning blocked policemen who tried to take the 10 bodies out of the hospital for transport to Manipur's Kuki-dominated Churachandpur. The Kukis want the bodies to be handed over to them in Silchar, from where they plan to take the body towards neighbouring Mizoram.

Fighting broke out in the northeastern state more than a year ago between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. The conflict has simmered since then, splitting previously cohabitating communities along ethnic lines.

Agencies : Khundrakpam Athouba Ningthouja, a degree student, died on the spot in the shooting incident, while another individual was hospitalized in Silchar, Assam, and is reported to be stable. In response, the BJP-led state government has formed a two-member inquiry committee to report its findings within 30 days.

After the shooting, protesters gathered outside the PWD guesthouse in Imphal, where Nectar and his team were staying, demanding he be handed over. The gherao lasted until 4:30 PM on Monday, with one protester claiming that police had secretly evacuated Nectar to a nearby central forces camp for his safety. Protesters also called for financial compensation for the victims' families, a job for the deceased’s kin, and legal action against the responsible police officer.

On Monday, a mob locked the chief electoral office in Imphal, demanding justice for the six inmates killed at a Jiribam relief camp. Protesters had vandalized Congress and BJP offices in Jiribam on Sunday. The state government has extended the suspension of internet services for another two days across seven districts.

Protests have erupted in Jiribam since news emerged of six Meitei relief camp inmates being kidnapped by suspected Kuki-Zo militants on November 11. The militants attacked a police station housing the camp and a nearby CRPF post in Borobekra, killing ten attackers. Kuki-Zo groups maintain the alleged militants were village volunteers. The bodies of all six missing inmates have been recovered, with the last body found in Assam's Cachar district on Monday.

Meanwhile, a “coffin rally” organized by Manipur’s Kuki groups will be held on Tuesday in Churachandpur to honor the ten Kuki-Zo youths killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF in Jiribam. Schools and colleges have been instructed to send students from Class X onwards to participate, with the group planning to carry 10 dummy coffins.