Imphal: Tensions have risen in Manipur’s Senapati and Kangpokpi districts following an armed attack on farmers at Taphou Kuki village, prompting protests, a 48-hour shutdown and exchanges between tribal organisations.
The Senapati District Students’ Association (SDSA) condemned the civilian deaths but opposed the Committee on Tribal Unity’s (CoTU) call for a shutdown and its demands concerning jurisdiction.
In a statement, the SDSA said the loss of innocent lives could not be justified, irrespective of community or identity.
However, the student body urged CoTU not to use the banner of tribal unity to pursue sectional interests or claim to represent all tribal communities in the state.
The SDSA also said it would not tolerate any unlawful blockade or obstruction of public movement across the Naga ancestral homeland.
It added that the association would take collective action to protect public security and existing administrative jurisdictions if such disruptions continued.
Normal life remained affected in Kangpokpi district on the second day of CoTU’s 48-hour total shutdown, which is scheduled to end at 5 pm on November 14.
Hundreds of Kuki-Zo community members staged sit-in protests at Saparmeina and Kangpokpi town over what they described as the state government’s inaction following the November 12 attack.
The incident left 42-year-old farmer Kimneineng Chongloi dead and two other male farmers critically injured while they were harvesting paddy.
The protesters demanded the immediate removal of the allegedly unauthorised NSCN-IM Huthrong Brigade Camp at Oklong in Senapati district and the withdrawal of security forces operating under the Senapati Superintendent of Police from Kangpokpi district.
Addressing the protesters, CoTU spokesperson Ng. Lun Kipgen questioned the effectiveness of security deployments, saying the farmers had been attacked despite being under official security cover arranged through the Senapati police.
Kipgen said the government’s failure to act on CoTU’s Charter of Demands had led to the incident and called for Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho’s resignation on moral grounds.
As the government’s seven-day ultimatum expired without a resolution, Kipgen said CoTU would hold public consultations to decide its next course of action. He reiterated that meaningful negotiations would require changes to the security command structure in fringe areas.
In a separate statement, the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) condemned the killing of Kimneineng Chongloi and the critical injuries sustained by Sehngam alias David Chongloi and Lamkhochon Chongloi between Taphou Kuki and Kailenjang villages.
The organisation alleged that cadres of the NSCN-IM and ZUF-K were involved in the attack. It said the deceased woman was found holding a sickle, indicating that she had been engaged in routine farm work when the incident occurred.
KWOHR urged the Centre, the Manipur government and the National Human Rights Commission to order a time-bound and impartial investigation, provide full medical support to the injured and deploy adequate security to protect vulnerable hill settlements.