Imphal: The situation in troubled, torn Manipur has further deteriorated since August 3 after the announcement by the Kuki organisation ITLF about the mass cremation of killed Kuki people in a Meitei village in Bishnupur district. However, the creation of graveyards was postponed after the Manipur High Court and Central Government intervention. But the situation escalated after news of the creation of a graveyard in the Torbung area by Kuki militants groups circulated in the troubled hit State.
On August 3, exactly after three months of the starting of violence in the State, around 500 people, including women, stormed into Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp in the Bishnupur district and looted arms and ammunition, including assault rifles and mortars. The mob attacked an Indian Reserve Battalion camp at Naranseina in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on August 3, police confirmed.
In an FIR lodged in Moirang police station, 2nd IRB battalion quartermaster O Premananda Singh complained that the attackers overpowered the security at the main gate and stormed into the campus.
The mob broke two of the doors of battalion armoury and looted a large number of arms, ammunition and other accessories. As per the FIR, 320 rounds of ammunition and 20 tear smoke shells were fired by the security forces to control the mob. It was mentioned in the FIR lodged by the IRB officials, the number of arms and ammunition looted included assault rifles, pistols, magazines, mortars, detonators, hand grenades, bombs, carbines, light machine guns, and over 19,000 rounds of ammunition. One AK series assault rifle, 25 INSAS rifles, 4 Ghatak rifles, 5 INSAS LMGs, 5 MP-5 rifles, 124 hand grenades, 21 SMC carbines, 195 SLRs, 16 9mm pistols, 134 detonators, 23 GF rifles, 81 51mm HE bombs were among the arms looted by the mob on August 3. In a separate incident, a mob tried to storm into a Manipur Rifles Battalion (MRB) campus at Kabo Leikai and Khabeisoi areas in Imphal East district and the Singjamei police station. But security forces foiled the attempt by the mob. No reports of arms loot were coming from the Imphal East district.
As per official reports, mobs have stormed police stations and armouries and looted around 4,000 weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition since May 3. Authorities have recovered over 1000 arms so far. But still, large numbers of arms and ammunition are with the civilians in the violence-hit State. The fresh rounds of violence hit the troubled hit state on the day of a proposed mass burial of Kuki victims in Bishnupur district. Hundreds of Meitei people staged protest in Bishnupur on August 3 against the proposed graveyard by Kuki organisations. At least 30 women suffered minor injuries when the Assam Rifles and Rapid Action Force used tear gas shells to disperse the mob in the border area of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.
Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) warns the Kuki organisation ITLF not to play politics over dead bodies. In a written statement, COCOMI said that every dead body of the Meitei community were cremated in their native village with due respect and recognition. Likewise, we expect the Kuki ITLF should follow the same norms to bury their people who have lost lives in their native village, the statement reads.
Creating graveyards in the evicted Meitei villages will provoke the sentiments of both communities further. This will also remain as a symbol of enmity between the villages and both communities forever. Further, the identity of the dead bodies should be checked before cremation, COCOMI mentioned in the statement.
On August 3, ITLF, a conglomerate of Kuki organisations, announced the burial of 35 killed Kuki people in the Torbung areas of Bishnupur district. Meanwhile, the curfew has been relaxed from morning 5 am to 12 pm in Imphal East, West and Bishnupur districts.
Further, Internet service has been suspended for five more days in the State. Schools will be open till 11 am until further order. Meanwhile, Security Forces conducted search operations in the vulnerable and fringe areas of the State. Joint security forces conducted an operation in the Koutruk hill range and destroyed seven illegal bunkers.
