Manipur district shuts down over arrests by CBI

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Churachandpur, October 2

Arrest of four persons, including two women, by the CBI on Sunday in connection with the murder of two students may have been welcomed by people in the Imphal valley of Manipur, but the action has triggered protests in Kuki-dominated areas of the state.

A complete shutdown was observed in Churachandpur district, having Kuki majority, on Monday bringing normal life to a standstill.

Kuki organisations had called for the bandh to protest the arrests. The four suspects — all of them belonging to the Kuki tribe — were arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of two Meitei teenagers who went missing in July.

Public vehicles were off roads, and markets and business establishments remained shut. In Churachandpur town, barriers were erected on the main road by youths to prevent movement of vehicles.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a joint platform of tribes of Manipur, had called for an indefinite shutdown from 10 am on Monday to protest the arrests. It demanded release of the suspects within 48 hours. Churachandpur-based Joint Students’ Body also called a 12-hour shutdown in the district. Talking to The Tribune, T Letminton Haokip, president of Churachandpur district unit of Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), said two of the four suspects were office-bearers of the KSO.

Paominlun Haokip and Malsawn Haokip were president and secretary, respectively, of the Leimata block unit of the KSO in Churachandpur district. “How could the CBI pick up four persons from the district without even informing the district police?” Haokip said.

The killing of the two teenagers — a girl and a boy — purportedly by Kuki miscreants further fuelled Meitei-Kuki clashes going on in the state for five months now.

Eighteen-year-old Hemanjit and 17-year-old Hijam Linthoingambi had gone missing on July 6. Photos of their bodies surfaced on September 25 leading to violent protests in the Imphal valley.