Imphal, Nov 2 Protesters clashed with security forces in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district after mutilated bodies of two missing youths were found in adjoining Senapati, prompting the law enforcers to fire tear gas shells and baton-charge the agitators to disperse them, police said on Monday.
Protests erupted in several parts of Kangpokpi district on Sunday night, as agitators burned tyres on many roads and blocked several stretches with logs of wood and boulders. Police have since managed to clear some of the roads.
Agitators also threw stones at security forces, prompting the law enforcers to fire tear gas shells and baton-charge the protesters to disperse them.
A protester was injured on his head after being allegedly hit by a tear gas shell, and his condition is stable, they said.
“Tension remains high in the district and additional security forces have been deployed on Monday morning,” a district official said.
The mutilated bodies of two youths, who recently went missing, were found in a hilly stretch in Senapati district on Sunday morning, officials said.
The bodies were found stuffed in gunny bags in a banana farm during an operation to trace the two youths, identified as T Chongloi (21) and Paoginlal Hangsing (20), who went missing from Taphou Kuki village on October 29, they said.
Deputy Chief Ministers Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho condemned the killings.
In a statement, Kipgen said, “What began with hopes of safe return ended in tragedy.” She demanded that “heinous crimes be thoroughly investigated”, and the culprits be brought to justice.
Dikho, in another statement, said, “Such senseless acts of violence and killing must be condemned unequivocally. The ongoing violence in our state is unacceptable. No grievances or disagreements can ever justify taking a human life.”
While Kipgen is from the Kuki community, Dikho is a Naga.
Meanwhile, Naga Peoples’ Organisation has questioned the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the bodies in Senapati district.
NPO president Kuba Peter told reporters, “We condemn any killing, but we also equally condemn any manipulation of evidence or deliberate attempt to inflame communal tensions. We demand an impartial, transparent and independent investigation to establish the truth, ensure accountability and prevent further communal tensions.”
Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) has demanded the resignation of Dikho over the incident.
It also sought the transfer of Taphou Kuki Village from the jurisdiction of Senapati superintendent of police to the Kangpokpi SP.
The committee said the bodies would not be taken to the village for final rites till the perpetrators were arrested.
Joint teams of the police, CRPF and Assam Rifles had conducted search operations along the boundary of Kangpokpi and Senapati districts for the youths, the officials said.
“During the course of one such operation, the joint teams recovered the two bodies,” a police officer said.
“An extensive search operation was conducted today by joint teams comprising the Manipur Police, CoBRA, CRPF, Assam Rifles and RAF in the general area east of NH-2, along the SP Road,” the police said in a statement.
SP Road is a hilly stretch that connects Senapati and Kangpokpi districts.
On Saturday, three people belonging to the Kuki community were killed in a gunfight between rival armed groups in Noney district, police said. Their bodies reached Churachandpur district on Sunday night.
More than 50 people have been killed and dozens of houses burnt across Tamenglong, Noney, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi districts since ethnic clashes broke out between Kuki and Naga communities in February this year.
The state had earlier witnessed ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis, in which over 300 people were killed, while 49 remained missing, and thousands were rendered homeless.
(PTI News)
