Moreh: The Hill Tribal Council Moreh said it is deeply shocked and pained by the recent arrest of five Kuki-Zo individuals—two from Phaitol village near Jiribam town and three from L Hengjol village in Sadar Hills/Kangpokpi district—by a combined team of state and central security forces.
Questing the actions of the central forces, HTC Moreh asked, “How could the state and central forces carry out combing operations in minority Kuki areas and then leave those properties in the hands of Meitei militants, reportedly the anti-national Arambai Tenggol, in collusion with Manipur Police Commandos, to be robbed and burnt down?”
Also read | Kuki Inpi Manipur Calls 12-Hour Shutdown to Protest Arrests of 5 Kuki-Zo People
Hill Tribal Council then said, the action of the Assam Rifles personnel who brutally assaulted the already panicked villagers, mostly women and children, using sticks and gun butts as deeply saddening to learn. “The indiscriminate firing at the house of the L Hengjol village chief is highly despicable. Therefore, HTC endorses Kuki Inpi’s resolve to call a “12-hour (6:00 AM-6:00 PM) Total Shutdown in all Kuki-Zo dominated areas on 10/07/2024 to protest against the gross injustice meted out to our people,” it added.
The Hill Tribal Council Moreh then fervently appealed to the concerned authorities for the immediate and unconditional release of the five youths arrested while protecting their homestead. “It’s like a helpless child being framed and arrested by a corrupt government for protecting his mother from a powerful rapist,” the Hill Tribal Council Moreh, a predominantly Kuki-Zo civil body said.