Curfew in Manipur's Churachandpur for 2 months amid fresh violence

Guwahati: Following the fresh incidents of violence after the tribal bodies' call to organise mass burials of 64 bodies lying in mortuaries, the Manipur government on Tuesday imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 in Churachandpur district for two months. The mass burial is scheduled to take place at the site on Wednesday.

Informing that the Indigenous Tribal Leader's Forum (ITFL), an influential Churachandpur-based tribal body, has announced the mass burial of over 64 people who were killed during ethnic clashes in the state, security sources said that the situation was tense but under control.

Though security agencies are tight-lipped over what triggered the fight on Monday, sources said that there have been differences between the tribal groups over the name of the burial site. One group wanted the mass burial site to be named "Kuki-Zo" martyrs cemetery. The other wanted the name “Kuki-Zomi-Mizo-Hmar”.

It is significant that on December 14, the bodies of 64 persons who were killed in the ethnic clashes between the Kukis and the Meiteis were handed over to their families. Of these, 41 bodies that were in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal were brought to the Churachandpur district, while 19 were taken to Kangpokpi. The bodies had been lying in mortuaries since the ethnic conflict broke out.

“Curfew has been imposed. The situation is under control now, but there have been a few minor injuries in the clashes,” the security sources said.

After the fresh round of violence, the Zomi Students’ Federation announced an “indefinite emergency shutdown” in Churachandpur district.

More than 180 people were killed since the violence erupted on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.