Imphal: Manipur police and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of the Kuki community have been engaged in a media war over the allegation of burning down a sacred place.
The row began on July 6, when the Manipur Police Control Room issued a statement that said armed miscreants had burned down Kongba Maru Laiphamlel, a sacred place of the Kuki community.
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However, police later said that they had inspected the site and found that the temple and Laibung (prayer hall) were not damaged. Only a store room, water tank, and a farm shed near the campus were burnt.
The Kuki CSOs, however, have denied that any sacred place was burned down. Seimang Lupho, president of Kuki Inpi Saikul Gamkai, said that the sacred Kongba Maru Laiphamlen is safe.
He said that they sent volunteers to check the site after hearing the news of the burning, and the volunteers found that the place was unharmed.
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Kuki Women Union Saikuk Gamkai president Neinu Lupheng also expressed her unhappiness over the alleged misleading reporting of the media.
She said that the media had created a false impression that a sacred place had been burned down, which has caused great distress to the Kuki community.
The dispute is a reminder of the ongoing communal clashes in Manipur, which have resulted in the deaths of over 130 people and the destruction of property.