GUWAHATI: Days after the body of a man, allegedly murdered, was retrieved from a forest in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district, the police appealed to people to refrain from using any inflammatory words or spreading rumours that could cause communal tension.
One Lalrawnliana (32), who belonged to Mizo community and hailed from Bungtlang South village, went missing on January 4. His body was recovered from a forest in the same district on January 11.
The forest is located near Nghalimlui village, where Chakmas and Lais are in a majority. Mizos and Brus have small populations there.
Following the incident, the locals of Bungtlang South village took out a rally to condemn the man’s murder. Later, they had filed an FIR and based on it, the police arrested three non-Mizos. They are now in judicial custody.
District authorities claimed the situation was under control.
“There is no tension now. It was a drunken brawl that had happened between two people. It was not between two communities,” Lawngtlai deputy commissioner (district magistrate) Shashanka Ala told this newspaper.
Several Mizo organisations, including students’ body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), condemned the incident and demanded stringent punishment for the perpetrators of the crime. An Aizawl-based Bru students’ body also condemned the incident and demanded strong action against the culprits.
Back in 1997, nearly 45,000 Brus had fled Mizoram following ethnic riots and took refuge in six relief camps in neighbouring Tripura. While some 8,000 of them returned to Mizoram during multiple repatriation exercises in the past decade, the rest of them decided to stay back.
Last week, the Centre had signed a quadripartite agreement whereby it was decided that the Brus lodged in the relief camps, will be re-settled in Tripura where each family will be given a piece of land to build a house with financial assistance from the government. There will be other benefits, including financial, as well.