One person was beheaded and three others were shot dead in Manipur on Sunday as the chain of violence clocked 60 days and in spite of the presence of 36,000 central troops in the state.
An official said three Meitei village volunteers were killed in Khuijuman Tabi in the Meitei-majority Bishnupur district in “firing from the hillside”, implying shooting from the adjoining Kuki-majority Churachandpur district around midnight.
The deaths resulted in a retaliatory attack on two Kuki villages — Langza and Chinglangmei — in Churachandpur between 3.30am and 4am in which the beheading took place and around 30 houses were set on fire, the official added.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of recognised Kuki-Zo tribes of Churachandpur, identified the victim as David Hmar.
“The assailants cruelly severed his neck and displayed his head on a fence, before callously discarding his body into one of the engulfed houses. This act of savagery demonstrates a complete disregard for human lifeand a reprehensible contempt for the tribal community...,” the ITLF said in a statement.
The ITLF said five persons were kidnapped but officials had not confirmed it till Sunday evening.
The strife so far has claimed at least 138 lives from both Meitei and Kuki communities and displaced 60,000 people.
The official said the volunteers were “protecting” their village (Khuijuman in Bishnupur) since the clashes broke out on May 3.
The official said over 3,000 agitated villagers had gathered to demand that chief minister and BJP leader N. Biren Singh take action against Kuki militants, apprehend those involved in the attack and ensure an early end to the violence.
Singh went to the village on Sunday to take stock of the situation and spent over four hours there, visiting the site of the violence and meeting the families of the deceased.
“The situation normalised a bit owing to the CM’s visit,” the official said.
Asked whether the chief minister visited the adjoining Churachandpur district, where the village where the beheading took place is located, sources said the situation was not conducive for him to visit Kuki-majority Churachandpur because Kuki organisations, including the ITLF, hold his government responsible for the ongoing unrest.
Sunday’s killings follow the death of three persons, including a policeman, on Thursday, which triggered a night-long protest in Imphal city against the government.
The protest prompted Singh to “decide to quit” on Friday but he changed his mind following a “show of solidarity” by thousands of women and youths in front of the chief minister’s bungalow.
The ITLF, which has been demanding a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo communities like other Kuki organisations, urged the President of India, the Prime Minister and Union ministers to “take swift and decisive action to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice”.
“Why has President’s Rule not been imposed yet? Is the Central Government waiting for the state-sponsored, Meitei-centric majority government of Manipur to complete the ethnic cleansing of the tribal community? Additionally, we call upon the national and international community, human rights organisations and concerned individuals to unite in condemning this ongoing pogrom by the Meiteis,” the ITLF said.
Blockade
Two umbrella bodies of Kuki militant outfits have decided to lift the 54-day blockade of NH 2 to ensure the uninterrupted supply of essentials. The ITLF did not “endorse” the move to lift the blockade of NH2 in Kangpokpi district, saying it was not consulted.