In a new development to the recent viral video of a Kuki man being set ablaze by unknown miscreants, the Security Advisor of Manipur, Kuldiep Singh, has said that the deceased is a tribal man and the Director General of Police (DGP) has requested the CBI to take over the case.
A video of the man being set ablaze surfaced on social media on Sunday. Soon after the video surfaced, Kuki social media users have claimed that the man in the video belongs to a Kuki-Zo community but the identity of the deceased is yet to identify. The perpetrators, amidst possible sounds of gunshots, in the background of the video used Manipuri/Meitei language which said, ‘Do not click photo' (in Meitei dialect).
Briefing the media in Imphal on Monday, the Security Advisor said as per their primary findings, the name of the person was Laldingthanga Khongsai alias Lal James Khongsai (37), son of Jamtinmang Khongsai, a resident of Houkhongching village, Kangpokpi District under Nongpok Sekmai police station and his body had been presently kept at JNIMS hospital, Imphal
Kuldiep said, “ It has been requested that the case be given to the CBI. The DGP has requested CBI to take over this case because this case also is a sequel of that incident to the viral video of two women who were paraded naked.”
While vehemently condemning the ‘horrific burning alive’ of the Kuki-Zo man, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum reiterated its call for separate administration.
In its statement, ITLF said a video surfaced on the internet on October 8, depicting the horrific burning alive of an unidentified man belonging to the Kuki-Zo community. "The video is a harrowing testament to the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kuki-Zo community by the majority Meiteis," it sated
Spokesperson of ITLF, Ginza Vualzong said that the complicity of the Manipur government has emboldened the Meiteis to take the law into their own hands. Acts such as the burning of the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary gate, the destruction of over 20 houses in Kangvai, and the killing of a pastor in Phoughakchao on May 3rd ignited an ethnic war that lasted for more than five months.
"During this period, Kuki-Zo individuals were relentlessly pursued and subjected to horrific violence. The free transfer of more than 6,000 sophisticated weapons and over 5 lakh rounds of ammunition into the hands of Arambai Tenggol and Meetei Leepun further fueled the aggression against the Kuki-Zo community," Vualzong said in his statement.
He also stated that numerous incidents of inhumane killings of Kuki-Zo people have already garnered attention.
The delivery of Florence and Olivia into the hands of Meitei youths by the Meira Paibis, the parading of two Kuki Zo sisters naked, the burning of Tonsing, his mother Meena Hangshing, and his aunt Lydia inside an ambulance, the electrocution of Vungzagin Valte and the murder of his driver, the killing of Dallamthang Suantak, who was pulled out of the ambulance he was driving, the beheading of David Thiek, the burning alive of elderly women Chingjaluan and Thiandam, and many other brutal acts against the Kuki-Zo community cannot be overlooked.
"The Manipur government's failure to address these heinous crimes underscores its bias and exclusionary approach, which only serves the interests of the Meiteis," the Spokesperson added.
Denouncing the grave injustice inflicted upon the Kuki-Zo people in the strongest terms, the ITLF asserted that the selective application of justice further reinforced their demand for a separate administration. It reiterated its call for a Separate Administration, as it said it is increasingly apparent that coexistence with the Meiteis, who have driven them out of their valley, subjected them to violence, and attacked their villages, was an untenable proposition.
The Hills Journal
K. Salbung, Churachandpur
Manipur-795128
