In fresh escalation of violence in Manipur, three people from the Meitei community were killed in Kwakta in Bishnupur district in the early hours of Saturday.

The incident has sparked off tensions once again in the area at the border of the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district and the Kuki-Zomi dominated Churachandpur district, where firing is currently ongoing.

Kwakta itself is at the border of the two districts.

According to news agency PTI, police said that the dead included a father-son duo. The three were allegedly gunned down while they were sleeping and later slashed with swords, PTI quoted police as saying. The deceased have been identified as Yumnam jiten Meitei, 46, Yumnam Pishak Meitei, 67, and Yumnam premkumar Meitei, 39.

“The three used to stay in a relief camp but had returned to their residences at Kwakta on Friday after the situation had improved,” PTI quoted police as saying.

Soon after the incident, an irate mob gathered at Kwakta and wanted to head towards Churachandpur but was stopped by security personnel, police said.

“Three persons including one policeman were injured following heavy exchange of fire between state forces and militants near Kwakta on Saturday morning. The policeman sustained splinter injuries on his face. All the three have been brought to Raj Medicity in Imphal for treatment. They are out of danger,” police said.

This comes days after the burial of 35 Kuki-Zomi people sparked tensions along the border of the two districts on Thursday.

The location where the burial was proposed to be held is in Torbung, an area at the border of the Kuki-Zomi dominated Churachandpur district and the Meitei dominated Bishnupur district. Significantly, Torbung is also where violence first broke out on May 3 before spreading to other parts of the state.

This choice of location had set off alarms among security personnel and the Ministry of Home Affairs, with apprehensions of a possible escalation of tensions and violence because of the contested nature of the territory. The night of August 2 and 3 saw meetings taking place into the early hours of the morning among Kuki-Zomi organisations and security authorities and the Ministry of Home Affairs, with the latter pushing the outfits to reconsider the planned programme.

In the meantime, on Wednesday, an organisation called the International Meeteis Forum filed a PIL in the Manipur High Court to stop Kuki-Zomi organisations from using the location as a burial site, stating that it is government land where a sericulture farm is located.

The court directed that status quo of the land in question be maintained till the next date of hearing on August 9, “taking into consideration the potentiality of aggravating the already volatile law and order situation and the possibility of igniting a fresh wave of violence and bloodshed…”

Early on Thursday morning, the ITLF issued a statement that it had decided to delay the burial by five days “on the request of the Home Minister”.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1343 HRS, AUG 05, 2023 
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