Kangpokpi tense: extra forces deployed, CoTU extends shutdown again

Kangpokpi district remained tense on Monday, November 2, with additional security forces deployed in the morning after a night of clashes over the killing of two young men from Taphou Kuki village, officials said. The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) has extended its shutdown again and says it will not take the bodies for last rites until the government meets its demands.

Monday: extra forces, roads being cleared

Protests spread to several parts of the district on Sunday night. Agitators burned tyres and blocked roads with logs and boulders, and threw stones at security personnel, who responded with tear gas and baton charges, police told PTI. One protester suffered a head injury, allegedly from a tear gas shell, and is stable, police said. Some roads have since been cleared.

"Tension remains high in the district and additional security forces have been deployed on Monday morning," a district official said. CoTU spokesperson Ng Lun Kipgen said in a statement late on Sunday that the total shutdown had been extended further.

Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, whose removal CoTU is demanding, condemned the killings, saying no grievance or disagreement could justify taking a human life. The Naga Peoples' Organisation said it condemned any killing but questioned the circumstances of the recovery and called for an impartial, independent investigation.

What happened on Sunday

Police identified the dead as Paoginlal Hangshing and Tinginlun (T) Chongloi, both in their early twenties and residents of Taphou Kuki village. Manipur Police said joint teams of the state police, CoBRA, CRPF, Assam Rifles and the Rapid Action Force found the bodies in the general area east of National Highway-2, along the SP Road, a hilly stretch that links Senapati and Kangpokpi districts. According to PTI, the bodies were found in gunny bags in a banana farm, and police said necessary legal formalities were under way.

The bodies were first taken to the district hospital and then moved to the Superintendent of Police's office in Kangpokpi as crowds gathered. Officials told PTI that security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters in front of the SP office. Some agitators said they were injured. Protesters also blocked NH-2, and shops and private institutions stayed shut under the CoTU shutdown, Northeast Live reported.

Protesters alleged that the youths were abducted and killed by "Naga militants". That allegation has not been confirmed by police, and no arrests had been announced by Sunday evening.

CoTU's five demands

CoTU said the bodies would remain unclaimed until the government acts on a five-point charter. According to the group, it wants:

• removal of Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, whom it accuses of failing to secure the youths' release;
• transfer of Taphou Kuki village from the jurisdiction of the Senapati SP to Kangpokpi;
• removal of an NSCN-IM camp at Oklong in Senapati district;
• handing over of the case to the National Investigation Agency; and
• immediate arrest of those behind the abduction and killing.

CoTU spokesperson Ng Lun Kipgen said the shutdown had been extended on Saturday in good faith, in the hope that the Deputy Chief Minister would help secure the youths' safe return. The bodies were still at the SP's office on Sunday evening, Northeast Live reported.

Deputy CM appeals for restraint

Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen condemned the killings, saying hopes of a safe return had "ended in tragedy". She called for a thorough investigation, said the families deserved swift justice, and appealed to people not to let the deaths trigger further violence.

Background

The two men went missing on the evening of October 28 near Marenmei, close to their village. The killings come a day after police said three people were killed in a gunfight between rival armed groups in Noney district. According to PTI, more than 50 people have died since clashes between Kuki and Naga groups began in February this year in parts of Tamenglong, Noney, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi districts.