‘Bodies will be taken to CM, Home Minister's residences’: Naga group warns of escalation over Leilon Vaiphei case

Protest erupted at Khwairamband Ima Market in Imphal, Manipur on Sunday, September 6 demanding justice for victims of the ethnic conflict in Manipur, with participants seeking action in cases involving people who were killed or remain missing since violence erupted in the state on May 3, 2023.

The protest was jointly organised by women vendors of Khwairamband Ima Market, the Joint Tribe Council of Coordination Committee Imphal Area and the Save Indigenous People of Manipur. Women belonging to various Naga tribes also participated in the demonstration.

The protesters formed a human chain and raised slogans demanding justice for indigenous people killed or reported missing during the conflict. They also attempted to take out a rally from the market area, but security personnel stopped them after they had moved a short distance.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the protest, Amana Thaimei, co-convenor of the Naga Humanitarian Aid Committee, Manipur, said Naga and Meitei communities had repeatedly sought justice for victims through democratic forms of protest.

He alleged that the state government had failed to give adequate attention to the demands of victims and their families despite the conflict continuing for more than three years.

Thaimei also criticised the government over the handling of cases arising from the conflict and alleged that the Centre should not remain unaware of developments in the state, which he claimed had been extensively reported by both traditional and social media.

He further alleged that the concerns of victims had not received adequate attention during the ongoing session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

On the Leilon Vaiphei incident, Thaimei rejected a statement attributed to state Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam during the Assembly session that the chief of Leilon Vaiphei and a Manipur Police constable from the area were not involved in the incident.

Citing alleged eyewitness accounts, he claimed that survivors of the incident had stated that the two were involved. He accused the government of presenting misleading information before the Assembly.

Thaimei also raised concerns over the status of the investigation into the alleged abduction and killing of six Liangmai Naga men in the Leilon Vaiphei incident, allegedly by Kuki groups. He claimed that nearly 115 days had passed without the families receiving justice and that the dismembered bodies of the victims remained at the mortuary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) Hospital.

He warned that if the government continued to delay action in the case, the families and community organisations could intensify their protests, including taking the victims' bodies to the official residences of the Chief Minister and Home Minister.

Thaimei also warned that continued failure to protect the life and property of indigenous communities could lead sections of the population to consider taking matters into their own hands, including, he said, resorting to armed resistance.

The allegations made during the protest could not be independently verified from the information available. The protest comes amid continued demands from different communities in Manipur for accountability, investigation and justice in cases linked to the violence that began in May 2023.