The house of a leader of Kuki armed group set on fire in Churachandpur, Manipur, on Monday.
Credit: Special arrangement
Guwahati: Fresh tension prevailed in Manipur's Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district where "unidentified miscreants" on Monday torched the house of a leader of Kuki National Organisation (KNO).
They also tried to set ablaze the houses of two top leaders of Kuki Zo Council (KZC), an apex body of the Kuki organisations leading the talks with the Centre to find an end to the Meitei-Kuki conflict.
Sources said the house of Calvin Hatlang, the leader of KNO's 'external affairs' wing at Dorcas Veng near Churachandpur town was burnt in the wee hours of Monday. They later targeted the house of KZC chairman Henlianthang Thanglet and the council's spokesperson, Ginza Vualzong. Their plan was thwarted with the intervention of the police and the central security forces, sources said.
KNO is an umbrella body of several Kuki armed groups which have been in Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Centre. On September 4, the SoO agreement with the KNO and United People's Front (UPF), another forum of Kuki armed groups, was extended by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with revised ground rules.
Vandalism near PM's event
The incident took place hours after a group of youths tried to storm into Churachandpur police station while demanding release of two men, who were arrested on charges of vandalism near the PM's event on Thursday (September 11) night.
The two were arrested after some persons vandalised the barricades and posters put up to welcome the PM to Churachandpur. They were granted bail by a court on Sunday. Modi visited Manipur on September 13 for the first time since the violence had started on May 3, 2023.
"They probably are against the ongoing efforts and talks to end the conflict," a source said.
There was also anger among a section against the administration's removal of the symbolic coffins from the 'Wall of Remembrance', a memorial put up by Kuki organisations outside the Peace Ground (where the PM addressed). But it was not clear whether the fresh violence had any links with the anger.
The fresh violence took place at a time PM Modi, while addressing the public meeting in Churachandpur, appealed to all groups to walk on the path of peace to further push development. The PM said the Centre started talks with leaders of several groups to find an end to the conflict that has claimed the lives of 259 people.
"The situation here now is normal but tension still prevails," an official in a central security force said.