A bandh called against the killing of a 45-year-old Kuki man the day before paralysed the Kangpokpi district on Wednesday amid a spike in ethnic violence in Manipur. It coincided with the second and last day of a shutdown in Imphal Valley against the killing of three Meiteis in an ambush in Imphal East on Monday.
The 45-year-old man was collecting bamboo shoots when he was killed, hours after at least six Kuki houses were set ablaze in Ukhrul.
People along National Highway (NH) 202, connecting Imphal with Nagaland via Ukhrul, and civil society organisation Native Peoples Committee Manipur imposed a 48-hour shutdown in Imphal Valley from Monday evening.
Most of the main markets in five valley districts, including Imphal West and Imphal East, wore a deserted look on Wednesday. Bandh supporters blocked major streets in Imphal city and its surroundings. They blocked Palace Compound Road, Patsoi, Singjamei, Mayai Lambi, Khoyathong and Khwairamband Ima Market.
All the educational institutions were shut, and the public transport remained off the roads.
Additional director general of police Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo said three people have been arrested in connection with the Monday ambush. He cited the preliminary investigation and said two of them admitted to being part of the group that killed three Meiteis. “The role of the third arrested man in this heinous crime is being probed, and the investigation is on to identify the others who are involved in the case.”
The Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed after the killing of three Meiteis, said their bodies will not be accepted until the government books all those culprits involved in the incident.
Meitei protesters on Monday left two bodies in front of the main gate of Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh’s residence to protest the failure to protect civilians after suspected armed Kuki militants carried out the ambush.
Security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob that breached security outside the residence and parked a truck carrying two bodies.
The families of the victims claimed that the attackers belonged to the Kuki community.
The ambush was the first incident of violence between Meiteis and Kukis after July 13, when armed Kuki groups attacked Meiteis in Bishnupur’s Torbung Bangla. There were no deaths in the incident. In the last few months, at least 50 people have died in the state, mostly in Naga-Kuki clashes.
The ethnic clashes first broke out between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities in May 2023 and have left at least 306 people dead since 2023.
A breakdown of law and order led to the creation of ethnic enclaves and displaced 66,000 people.
On May 13, four people, including three church leaders, were killed in a twin ambush in Kangpokpi. On the same day, 48 civilians from the Kuki and Naga communities were taken hostage from both groups.
Two days later, 14 people from each community were released. But 14 Kukis and six Nagas remained in captivity. After 27 days of protest and appeals for unconditional release of the hostages, 14 Kukis were released on June 9. But on June 10, mutilated bodies of six Naga hostages were recovered, fuelling tensions.