Manipur: Protests in hill areas demand justice for Jiribam gunfight victims

Hundreds of people hit the streets in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Friday, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jiribam.

The rally, organised by the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights, began at the Koite Playground around 11.00 am.

With placards denouncing the CRPF, hundreds of people from different walks of life marched to the 'Wall of Remembrance', a memorial for Kuki people killed in the ethnic violence in the state since May last year.

Ten suspected militants were killed in the gunfight with security forces after alleged insurgents attacked the Borobekra police station in Jiribam district on 11 November, according to police. However, a senior state government official had put the toll at 11.

Addressing the gathering before the rally began, Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) vice-president Minlal Gangte demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He claimed that those killed were "tribal volunteers" who were protecting their villages and innocent people.

At the end of the rally, a memorandum addressed to the National Human Rights Commission and Union home minister Amit Shah was submitted to additional deputy commissioner Seiminthang. Similar rallies were also held in Kangpokpi district and Moreh in Tengnoupal district.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic clashes between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

Ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.

Countering the claims of the Kuki-Zo groups that those killed in Jiribam were village volunteers, the state police said a huge number of arms and ammunition were found at the spot once the gunfight was over.

Three women and three children who lived in a relief camp have been missing since the gunfight, with Meitei organisations alleging that they were kidnapped by the retreating militants. Police said a search was underway for them.