Manipur Violence: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has thanked the army for bringing back safely over 200 Indians who had gone to Myanmar from the state’s border town. All of them had gone to Myanmar after the violence broke out. After about three months, they have returned with the help of the army. The Chief Minister of the state has written on ‘X’ (Twitter) that after the violence in Moreh town of Manipur on May 3, I am very happy with the return of 212 Indian citizens (Meites) who took refuge on the Myanmar border. All of them have now returned to the soil of India. Let me tell you, Moreh, located about 110 km from the capital Imphal, was one of the most affected areas of the violence. Moreh has a mixed population of Kukis, Meitais and even Tamils. Let me tell you, more than 160 people have died so far in the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur that started on May 3.
BJP MLA opposes talks between Kuki rebels and government
A BJP legislator in Manipur on Friday opposed any peace talks between the Center and the Kuki insurgent groups. Rebel groups have entered into a suspension of operations (SOO) agreement with the government. Meitei MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh made a statement against the talks between the government and representatives of the United People’s Front and the ‘Kuki National Organisation’, an organization of 24 Kuki insurgent groups. These organizations have signed SoOs with the Govt. Sources said representatives of the central government held talks with members of Kuki insurgent groups in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday. Singh has written on ‘X’ (Twitter) that there should be no talks between the central government and the rebel groups as they have violated the rules. He said that strict action should be taken against these insurgent groups for continuous violence.
Supreme Court seeks response from Manipur government
Here, the Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Manipur government on a petition by two women from the Kuki community, seeking directions to provide free medical treatment to people migrating from ethnic violence-hit areas of the state. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra took note of the plea seeking direction to the police to register zero FIR, in view of the alleged reluctance on the part of the local police to register a case related to the violence. It has been requested to prepare guidelines for Issuing notice, the bench ordered clubbing of the petition with the pending petitions on Manipur violence.
forced to flee
Referring to the plight of the original inhabitants of Manipur, the petition by two women claims that they have been forced to migrate. The women alleged in the petition that like them many others have been denied basic human rights and right to life. On August 7, the Supreme Court had ordered setting up of a committee of three former women judges of various high courts to oversee the relief and rehabilitation work and compensation for those affected in the Manipur violence. Apart from this, the court had also asked former Maharashtra police chief Dattatreya Padsalgikar to supervise the investigation of criminal cases. The Supreme Court had said that its effort was to restore a sense of faith in the rule of law in the state. The apex court had also decided to monitor the overall situation there (in Manipur).
Violence again in Manipur, bodies of three people found
Earlier, in the latest incident of violence in Manipur, mutilated bodies of three people were found after heavy firing in Kuki Thowai village of Ukhrul district on Friday. The officers provided this information.
This is the first attack in Ukhrul district, dominated by the Tangkhul Nagas, in the recent spate of violence, officials said. The latest violence took place in a village under Litan police station area, where heavy firing was heard early in the morning, he said. The officer said that the police conducted a thorough search of the surrounding villages and forests and recovered the bodies of three people aged between 24 and 35 years. According to the officials, all the three bodies have marks of attack with a sharp knife and their hands and feet are also chopped off.