Imphal: The panic-stricken villagers of Nongshum in violence-hit Manipur’s Imphal East district on Thursday (September 5, 2024) staged a sit-in demonstration against the state government’s decision to deploy central security forces at the newly constructed police outpost located in the village.
The villagers, mostly women, took part in the protest held at the Ibudhou Nongda Lairen Pakhangngba Community Hall at Nongshum village.
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The Nongshum village, inhabited by people of the Meitei community, is adjacent to nine villages of the Kuki-Zo-dominated Kangpokpi district.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the protest, general secretary of the Nongshum Development Committee, Yumlembam General, said, “We are demanding deployment of the state forces at the newly constructed police outpost.”
The villagers said they are now apprehensive of the Assam Rifles posted in the adjoining areas of the bordering district. They accused the paramilitary force of not taking any action during an attack from the neighbouring villages launched by alleged Kuki-Zo miscreants.
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In regard to the recent drone bombings that claimed the life of a Meitei woman and injured 11 others at Koutruk and the adjacent villages, Yumlembam said the people of these remote villages are still living in fear, especially during the night hours.
Saying the villagers’ trauma are from over, he added that during this growing season the Assam Rifles personnel have denied permission to the Meitei farmers to work in the paddy fields located near the foothills of the Kuki villages.
Yumlembam alleged the Kuki militants wielding heavy arms are often seen coming close to their villages during the night hours.
In May 2023, when the ethnic clashes were at its peak, at least 40 per cent of the Nongshum residents reportedly fled to safer places.