Online Desk: Violence continued to grip Manipur’s Jiribam district on Tuesday, with the bodies of two elderly men discovered a day after a gunfight between militants and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) claimed the lives of 10 militants. Police reported that three women and three children remained missing following the violence that erupted on Monday.
The bodies of Laishram Balen and Maibam Kesho, both elderly men, were found in the debris of the Jakuradhor Karong area, where militants had set fire to several shops during the clash. This has raised concerns about further escalation in the region. In a separate development, tribal groups in Manipur have called for “non-cooperation” with the CRPF. These groups claim that those killed in Monday’s encounter were not militants, but volunteers from the Hmar village. The situation has fueled anger among local communities, with many accusing the CRPF of acting against the interests of the tribal population.
Meanwhile, the situation in Jiribam, where authorities had imposed an indefinite curfew following the militants’ attack on a CRPF camp, remained tense but relatively calm. Police forces continued to patrol vulnerable areas, ensuring the safety of the residents. In response to the ongoing violence, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) organized a shutdown in Kuki-Zo-dominated districts of Manipur to protest the CRPF’s actions. The ITLF questioned the role of the CRPF, suggesting that the force was not neutral and was siding with one community over another.
The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) issued a directive of non-cooperation with the CRPF, demanding the paramilitary force publicly acknowledge and apologize for its actions in Jiribam. “No CRPF personnel shall be allowed to leave their camp until they do so,” the KSO said, framing their directive as part of a larger movement of resistance against the CRPF in Kuki-dominated areas.
The ITLF also accused the CRPF of failing to assist the villagers during an attack on Zairawn village by Meitei gunmen last week, where a Hmar woman was allegedly raped, shot, and burned, and the village was torched. The incident, which has drawn widespread condemnation from tribal bodies and Kuki MLAs, including those from the ruling BJP, has further fueled tensions between the communities. The ITLF went on to claim that the CRPF’s actions on Monday, which resulted in the deaths of 11 Hmar village volunteers who were patrolling tribal areas in response to the Zairawn attack, were part of an ongoing pattern of neglect and aggression against the tribal people.
