A large number of people from Meitei community held a protest in Thoubal district against the arrest of accused in the Manipur viral video case on Friday, July 28, local media reported. The protesters demanded immediate release of the accused.
A protest rally, led by the Meitei organisations Apunba Club and Meira Paibis, was taken out from Wangjing and culminated at Thoubal deputy commissioner’s office.
The protesters marched with placards which read ‘Stop Arrest Innocent people’, ‘Government should control Kuki dominated areas immediately’, ‘Meiteis Want Peace, Kukis Want War’.
So far, police have arrested seven accused, in the viral video case, which showed naked women being paraded by a group of men from Meitei community. Officials said that the seventh accused was arrested from the Thoubal district.
Meanwhile, the irate mobs earlier set ablaze the houses of absconding suspect L Kabichandra, 20, and main accused Huirem Herodas Singh in Thoubal.
Separate administration opposed
Meanwhile, another massive rally was taken out on Saturday, July 29, to protest against the demand for a ‘separate administration’ for areas inhabited by the Kuki community. Tens of thousands of demonstrators from across five valley districts of the state participated in the rally.
The protest march, organised by Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), began at Thangmeiband in Imphal West district and culminated at Hapta Kangjeibunand in Imphal East, covering a distance of 5 km.
Holding aloft placards, demonstrators raised slogans against those who demanded separate administration, and against ‘illegal immigrants from Myanmar’.
The demonstration was held on a day when a delegation of 21 MPs from the opposition alliance INDIA arrived here to assess the ground situation. Notably, ten MLAs from the Kuki community in Manipur had, in May, demanded a separate administration, stating that the current administration had miserably failed to protect the Chin-Kuki-Zomi tribals.
The protesters also voiced their opposition against the ongoing talks being held in Delhi between a home ministry officials and former Kuki militants.
Sarat, a protester who came from the Bishnupur district, said, “After almost three months of arson, killings and torching of our houses, how can we give up our land.”.
K Gandhi from the Uripok area, who participated in the rally, said, “We want the army to take action against militants.”
The demonstrators held a meeting at Hapta Kangjeibunand and demanded the implementation of the National Register of Citizens and the convening of a special Assembly session before August 5 to discuss ethnic violence in the state.
More than 160 people lost their lives and many were injured since ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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