GUWAHATI: Protests erupted in Manipur’s Imphal East district on Monday, a day after the chilling details of the autopsy reports of a three-year-old boy, his mother, and grandmother became public.
The trio was among six individuals allegedly abducted and killed by Kuki militants in the Jiribam district recently. The autopsy reports for the remaining three victims a woman and two children have not yet been shared by authorities.
Defying curfew orders, protestors took out a rally to condemn the killings and demand the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which was recently reimposed in six police station areas of the Imphal valley.
The rally, organised by various groups, commenced from the Kongba Bazaar area. Most of the participants were women. Security forces stopped the rally approximately 1 km short of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
In anticipation of unrest following the release of the autopsy reports, the state government increased security in Imphal valley and rescinded an earlier order to reopen educational institutions.
Protestors carried posters and placards with messages such as “Repeal AFSPA, 1958” and “Stop killing women and children.”
“We organized this rally to protest the brutal killing of six innocent people in Jiribam. We demand the immediate repeal of AFSPA from the six police station areas of Imphal valley,” one woman protestor told the media.
She criticized the perceived silence from authorities and public figures: “When two women were paraded naked, the central government and Bollywood stars protested. Now, three women and three children have been killed in Jiribam, but there has been no reaction from the central government. None of the MPs in the country has spoken up. Why this double standard?”
In response to the unrest, the government extended the suspension of mobile internet and data services in nine districts until 5:15 pm on November 27. The services, initially suspended on November 16 for two days, have been extended periodically.
Meanwhile, Manipur Rajya Sabha member Leishemba Sanajaoba criticized Mizoram MP K. Vanlalvena for advocating "separate administrative units" for the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities as a solution to the ethnic conflict.
Sanajaoba urged Vanlalvena to refrain from interfering in Manipur’s internal affairs and to maintain neighborly relations. “Do not cross the line. Stop meddling in Manipur's issues and be a good neighbor,” he advised.